


A pair of souls, entwined across the universes.

by JenJo



Category: Marvel
Genre: Drabble Collection, M/M, chapters unrelated unless otherwise stated, otherwise this would get way too long, tags included in each chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-08 08:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 48
Words: 20,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10382274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenJo/pseuds/JenJo
Summary: Like a moth to a flame,in any time or place I roam,on my lips is your name,and in your heart is my home.~A drabble collection featuring Bucky Barnes and Tony Stark, in love across a variety of universes.





	1. 75: "Do you ever follow directions?"

**Author's Note:**

> I decided that I needed to do some Winteriron writing. So I have a prompt list, and I'm working my way through it.
> 
> First up, prompt 75: "Do you ever follow directions?"
> 
> Tags: established relationship; roadtrip; canon or au: up to you

 

 

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

Tony turned a sardonic look on Bucky, before looking back at the road. They were driving on a seemingly never-ending road, towards the sunset. “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just question my sense of direction.”

Bucky laughed, he couldn’t help it. “Darling, I know you better than that. Do you  _ ever  _ follow directions?”

“I have been known to, on occasion,” Tony kept his eyes on the road this time, doing his best to hide the smile threatening to break out. “When it suits me.”

“Uh huh,” Bucky nodded, clearly not convinced. “And it doesn’t suit you now?”

“Nope,” Tony smiled now, eyes filled with humour behind his glasses. “I have a very good reason, you know.”

“And what is that reason, that has you smiling like that?”

Tony looked over at Bucky, before turning back to the road.

Bucky burst out laughing, taking off his sunglasses to wipe at his eyes. “Oh, that was almost  _ smooth _ , you know?”

“Only almost?”

“Yup,” Bucky shook his head, smile still on his face. “Can’t go inflating your ego any more than it already is.”

“Oh, it’s not my ego that’s inflated,” Tony kept his voice perfectly level, which only caused Bucky to laugh more.

“Alright, I take it back. No smoothness to be found from you. Nope, none.”

“Aw, come on. You knew that’s what I’d say.”

“Maybe,” Bucky conceded, shrugging his shoulders. “Still doesn’t salvage how terrible that was.”

“As always, your dislike of my humour is noted.”

“That wasn’t humour, that was a terrible pick up line that isn’t even right to use…  _ anywhere,  _ really.”

“Yes, okay, fine, it was terrible, I agree completely.” Tony turned off the road at a seemingly random spot, before pulling the car to a stop. “We’re here.”

Bucky looked around; “here” was a middle-of-nowhere road, surrounded by more nothing. “What is here?”

Tony turned off the car, eliminating all artificial light. He took off his sunglasses, and pointed up. “That.”

Bucky took off his own sunglasses and looked up; the first stars were starting to become visible as the sun made it’s descent over the horizon.

“We stargazing?”

“That we are, my dear.” Tony got out of the car, and went to lean against the front of it. Bucky followed, putting an arm around Tony’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to his temple.

“Thank you.”

Tony smiled, leaning on Bucky’s shoulder and looking up at the sky. “Anytime.”


	2. “If you had asked me to stay, I would’ve.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 1: “If you had asked me to stay, I would’ve.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; choose your own canon; Bucky was in medical; he's better now; Tony's worried; established relationship

 

Bucky had been released from medical four hours ago, and had been home for three. Tony hadn’t left his side once.

“You don’t have to hover over me, you know?” Bucky had said when Tony brought Bucky another blanket for the couch. “I’m fine now.”

Tony sat on the edge of the couch, as far away from Bucky as he could be. He rubbed at his chest nervously. “I didn’t visit you once.”

“What?”

“You were in medical for a week, and I didn’t visit you once.” Tony shook his head, looking down at his lap. “That’s terrible.”

“Hey, no, it’s fine.”

“No it’s not.” Tony looked up, looking like he hadn’t slept during the past week. “If you had asked me to stay, I would’ve.”

“I didn’t ask you, because I know you can’t be in medical.” Bucky reached out, a bandaged hand coming to rest on Tony’s knee. “I don’t blame you, it sucks.”

Tony shook his head. “A week where I didn’t see you. All because I can’t walk through those halls? I’m terrible.”

“Stop saying that,” Bucky squeezed Tony’s knee, shifting on the couch to be closer. “I get it Tony, you know that I do. And that’s why I didn’t ask you to stay.”

Tony laughed, a humourless thing. “Even when you’re the one injured, you still look out for me.”

“One of us has to, right?” Bucky tilted his head, before lifting his arm. “Come on, I need someone to fill this Tony-shaped hole by my side.”

Tony slid across the couch in a second, coming to sit by Bucky’s side. Bucky put his arm around Tony, and rested his head on Tony’s head. “Perfect. Not going to move for four hours.”

“Four hours?”

Bucky hummed in thought. “Yeah, you’re right. Four minutes, maybe.”

“Much more likely.”


	3. “You’re too good for this world.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 2: “You’re too good for this world.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; Tony questions his self worth; Bucky reassures him

 

“I’m a mess, nothing ever goes right for me.” Tony paused in his rant, turning to stare at Bucky. “And I have no idea why you’ve stuck by me for as long as you have.”

“Tony,” Bucky sat up on the edge of his chair, but didn’t stand. He looked up at Tony, hoping that the love he felt for this man was evident on his face. “Tony, I love you. So much. I’ve stayed with you because I want to.”

Tony shook his head. “No.”

“No?”

“No,” Tony repeated, nodding his head as if to reassure himself of his thoughts. “You don’t love me. You can’t. Bucky, I’m not good enough for you.”

And there was the heart of the matter. Bucky stood up, reaching out to take Tony’s hands in his. “Tony, you’re too good for this world. If anything, I’m not good enough for you.”

Tony shook his head at that, opening his mouth to argue. Bucky leant forward to press a kiss to Tony’s lips, stopping the impending argument.

“Can we stop the ‘what is good’ argument?” Bucky asked against Tony’s lips. “Please?”

Tony, eyes closed, hummed in reply.

“Think what you will, but never doubt that I love you. You, Tony Stark, are the only one for me.”

Tony dropped his head to Bucky’s shoulder; Bucky moved his hands to hold Tony in a hug.

“Thank you,” Tony whispered against Bucky’s neck.

Bucky kissed the top of Tony’s head, not commenting on the tears he could feel against his neck. “Anytime. Anytime you want me, I’m here for you.”


	4. “Could you be happy, here, with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 3: “Could you be happy, here, with me?”
> 
> Tags:  
> au; medieval au; prince! Tony; Knight!Bucky; established relationship

  


Bucky knew the type of life Tony led, knew the worlds he walked in that Bucky could only dream about.

He knew the extravagances, the high standards that Bucky could never hope to emulate.

And yet, here Tony was, sitting at his wooden table, which took up a quarter of his living quarters, eating the dinner that he had prepared. .

“I know it’s not much,” Bucky had said, that day that Tony had come to live with him. “And it’s nothing like what you’re used to in that castle. But it’s safe, I can guarantee that.”

“No one would look for me here,” Tony had agreed, quickly taking in the quarters that had been Bucky’s ever since losing his arm saw him taken from the ranks of Knights. “But I’m with you, and that’s all that matters.”

Bucky had chewed at his bottom lip, a terrible habit that Tony had quickly deciphered.

The prince strode to Bucky’s side, taking Bucky’s hands and bringing them to his lips. “Tell me what troubles you?”

Always a question, never a demand. “Could you be happy, here, with me?”

“This is what is making you nervous?” Tony smiled at that, kissing Bucky’s hands and bringing them down between them. “My love, I would be happy living in a tent so long as I got to do so by your side.”

“But why?” Bucky asked, knowing that he had to have the answer. “You could have your choice of anyone in the land, and yet you choose a one armed former knight who lives on a measly pension. Why?”

Tony smiled again. “I love you, my love. I have no need for money, especially if it came at the cost of losing you.”

That had set Bucky’s mind at ease

And now, a year later, they had settled into their lives together. Tony had taken a job as apprentice to the local blacksmith. Nobody recognised their prince; there was something to be said for the anonymity provided by being away from court, after all.

“What has you thinking so loudly, my love?”

Bucky shook his thoughts away, smiling at Tony across the table. He had grown his hair, revelling in the freedom he had not been afforded as prince to do as he pleased with his hair.

“Nothing to worry about,” Bucky reassured him, reaching across the table to take his hand. “Just thinking on this life of ours.”

“Still wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

‘I know,” Bucky squeezed Tony’s hand. “You know, one day the King will die, and you will be able to return.”

“One day is not today,” Tony answered. “And it’s best not to think about that which is not yet true, my love.”

Bucky nodded, letting go of Tony’s hand to continue eating his dinner. “Quite right.”

“Although,” Tony said after a moment’s pause, looking down at his dinner to try and hide the smile that Bucky could plainly see dancing on his lips. “You would look quite fetching in an outfit designed by Janet. She does wonderful things with silk.”

“It is best not to think about that which is not yet true,” Bucky echoed Tony’s earlier statement, but couldn’t hide the smile from his face.

Tony looked up, looking at Bucky with love written across his face. “You’ll fit in wonderfully.”

“One day.”

“Indeed. For now, what we have here makes me beyond happy.”

Happy. A year and a half ago, Bucky would not have dreamed it possible. But sitting here, with his love by his side, he knew that it was not only possible, but a reality.


	5. “How long do we have?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 4: “How long do we have?”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; established relationship; happy ending; anniversary plans seemingly being led astray by inconvinient building collapses; but it all works out

  


There was a siren, before the building disintegrated around them. Tony, seeing Bucky standing in the middle of the room, diverted all his power to the jets, getting to Bucky and protecting him as the building collapsed, trapping them.

The force of the impact knocked Tony out for a minute; he came back to several readings on his screen, none of them good.

“How long do we have?” he croaked out, blinking his vision back into focus.

“An hour at most before the oxygen is gone,” FRIDAY informed him.

“Bucky?”

“Barnes is unconscious, boss. He will be fine, if you can get him to a hospital soon.”

Tony looked around at the cavern they found themselves in. “And how do I get him to a hospital?”

FRIDAY was uncharacteristically silent, before answering. “You can’t get out. You’ll have to wait for someone to find you.”

“But will someone find us?”

“Unknown.”

“Damnit,” Tony muttered, opening the faceplate to look at Bucky. He looked like he was sleeping, hanging limply in Tony’s armoured arms. There was no question about it; if Tony hadn’t of made it to him in time…

“No, can’t think about that,” Tony muttered to himself, retracting the hand of his right gauntlet, in order to touch Bucky’s cheek. It was cold to touch. “Come on Barnes, I need you to wake up now. Any time now, otherwise I’m going to get sappy. And we both know how much you enjoy that.” Tony shook his head, closing his eyes against the tears threatening to fall. “I can’t lose you, not like this. Not… you know what next week is, don’t you? Yeah, our anniversary. I had a surprise all lined up; was going to fly out to a private beach. We’d spend all our time on the beach, able to see every star. Able to do anything we wanted, anywhere, because no one would be around to see us. So I need you to wake up now, if not for me, then for yourself. Because I know you wouldn’t want to miss that. Please?”

Tony fell silent, watching Bucky’s face for any sign of movement. After a minute, Bucky’s eyes began to flutter open.

“BUCKY!” Tony yelled out of sheer relief; Bucky’s face scrunched up at the volume.

“No need to yell,” he muttered, coughing as he sat up in Tony’s arms. “Where’r’we?”

“Trapped.”

“How long do we have?”

“Less than an hour.”

“Someone coming for us?”

“Hope so.”

Bucky nodded, looking at Tony’s face. “You been crying?”

“No?”

“Weren’t worried about me were you?”

“You were unconscious; FRIDAY says you need medical.”

“Yeah, that’d be because I have broken ribs, and who knows what other internal injuries.”

Tony put his hand on Bucky’s cheek. “We’ll get through this.”

Bucky reached up, putting a hand over Tony’s. He grimaced, a smile clearly not able to be produced. “Course we will. Got a beach to get to.”

“You heard that?”

“Yeah. So we’ll get through this, because we have to.”

~

Just as the oxygen was getting too thick to breath, a whole appeared in their cavern, and daylight shone through.

“Private beach, here we come,” Bucky muttered, before falling unconscious in Tony’s arms.

Once free of the cavern, Tony flew Bucky straight to medical, where he spent a night in surgery, before being released to recover.

~

They made it to the beach in time for their anniversary, and made full use of it’s privacy.


	6. "Do you think we're bad people?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 5: “Do you think we’re bad people?”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; Tony asks the question; Bucky reassures him

 

 

“Do you think we’re bad people?”

As was often the case, Tony brought up the world-changing questions as the pair lay in bed, attempting to fall asleep. Bucky often suspected that it was a way to delay sleep, or a way to induce it, depending on just how philosophical the question was.

Tonight’s one wasn’t going to go away easily.

Bucky looked at Tony, who was resting on his chest, looking at Bucky. “No.”

Tony frowned at the answer. “How can you answer that so easily?”

“Simple. We save the world twice a week; how can we be bad?”

Tony shook his head. “Not that simple though, is it?”

“Why can’t it be?”

“You think your balance of good is anywhere near enough to balance the bad?”

Bucky frowned at Tony, shifting so that he was sitting up against the headboard. Tony shifted so that he was sitting in front of Bucky, still staring at him waiting for an answer.

“What brought this on?”

Tony waved a hand around his head. “The usual.”

‘The usual’ meant that Tony had been spending too much time in the past, not enough in the present. It was a thing, a thing they both had to battle from time to time. So the short hand was all the explanation Bucky needed to know exactly what was up with Tony.

“Come here,” Bucky held his arms open; Tony crawled into them, wrapping his own arms around Bucky’s torso. He rested his cheek on Bucky’s chest, and Bucky made sure to even out his breathing, watching as Tony’s own fell into sync. “Now you and I know that what’s in the past can’t change. No matter how much worrying we do, what’s done is done. And we both know that who we are today are quite different people to who we once were. And we certainly know that there’s no such thing as balancing out our actions; only that every action we take going forward is taken for the right reasons, to do the right thing. You and I both know this, yes?”

“Yes,” Tony mumbled against Bucky’s chest, before repeating it louder. “Yes.”

“So there is no need to ask if we’re bad people, because you know the answer.”

“We’re not.”

“We’re not.”

Bucky felt Tony close his eyes. “You mind if I fall asleep here?”

Bucky brought a hand up to rub up and down Tony’s spine. “Not one bit.”

Tony was asleep within a minute, Bucky following not too long after.


	7. "How did we become this?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 6:“How did we become this?”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; alternate Civil War- my speciality; vague ending

  


Tony slowly lowered his repulsor, breath still coming unevenly. He didn’t dare take his eyes off of the man on the other side of the bunker.

Bucky was also slow to lower his gun, eyes still piercing straight through Tony’s soul, just as they always did.

“How did we become this?” Tony asked, voice broken and weak. It wasn’t a voice he heard often; he could, in fact, count the number of times he had heard it on one hand.

Bucky’s hand went limp at his side, gun dropping out of it and clattering to the floor. “Snowball effect.”

“Right. One decision became ten…” Tony stopped, shaking his head. He stepped out of the armour, knowing that it was a foolish mistake, even as he kept walking towards Bucky. “For what it’s worth, I never wanted any of this.”

“I didn’t,” Bucky shook his head, pushing his hair out of his face. “Staring down the barrel of a gun, the man I love in my crosshairs? Not a position I ever wanted to be in.”

“Snowball effect,” Tony echoed,  stopping with an arm’s length of Bucky. “We can’t go back to what we had before.”

“No, we can’t. I’m a wanted man.”

“And once they figure out what I did here, I’m going to have to play damage control to the extreme.” At Bucky’s questioning look, Tony waved a hand. “You don’t need the details. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Tony nodded. “Right. I’m not giving you the codes to disable the Raft’s security, and I’m also not telling you that Wakanda will grant you sanctuary.”

Bucky took the usb drive, putting it in his pocket. “And I’m not telling you that I will miss you every day until I can see you again.”

“I’ll see what I can do about that. But for now, just know that I’m sorry. For everything.”

“Me too,” Bucky said, reaching out to put a hand on Tony’s shoulder. Tony reached up, squeezing the hand briefly, before letting go and turning back to his armour.

“Go get Steve; it’ll take me five minutes to reboot.”

“We’ll be long gone by then,” Bucky said to Tony’s back, taking one last look before turning and running down the hallway.

He rendezvoused with Steve, who gave him a questioning look.

“No,” was all Bucky said, eyes widening at T’Challa’s presence.

“He’s going to fly us to a safe place,” Steve explained, following T’Challa to a plane. Bucky felt the usb drive in his pocket, and called out to T’Challa.

“You think we can make a stop at the Raft?”

T’Challa gave him a nod. “We can.”

“Good. We have some friends to collect.”

~

Steve didn’t ask what happened between Bucky and Tony in that bunker. In typical Steve fashion, he assumed the worst.

Only Bucky knew what had happened, and that was not going to change.

He spent the days by himself, wandering the corridors as a ghost, waiting for the day he could see Tony again.


	8. "I can hardly stand myself"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 7: “I can hardly stand myself.”
> 
> Tags:  
> au; university students; Tony does not like Tony; but he's trying

  


Some days were worse than others.

Scratch that; some days downright sucked like hell, and look impossible to escape from.

Tony knew he had a flair for the dramatic; his first psychologist had said so, at the age of ten. The flair for the dramatic didn’t change the fact that some days were terrible; those days where he barely left the bed, didn’t even drag himself to the kitchen for a piece of food.

Those days were few and far between, Tony acknowledged that, especially since he had met Bucky.

Bucky, the punk with the guitar and the perfect hair and the motorbike- it had been love at first sight. 

Tony had been told, by multiple parties, that using Bucky as his reason for getting out of bed could prove hazardous; what happens if Bucky leaves you? What happens if you wake up one morning and don’t want to see him anymore? What if? What if? What if?

Tony had told these parties to shove it. Politely, of course.

So what if Bucky was his reason for getting through his bad days? In Tony’s opinion, that was just fine.

And today? Today was a doozy.

(Yeah, doozy. That’s a word he learnt from Bucky. He learnt lots of words from Bucky.

Some of them were weird (dazzlin’ donuts; spiffing; no good in’ya). But some were downright brilliant (love; warmth; belonging).)

Back to today, the doozy of a day. Tony had woken up, and decided that his roof was the most interesting thing in the world.

That was six hours ago, and he hadn’t moved a muscle. Nor did he have any intention of moving anytime soon.

That was when Bucky walked into his bedroom cup of coffee in hand and an expression that Tony didn’t have the capacity to read.

“Missed you at the cafe,” Bucky said as he sat down on the foot of the bed, taking a sip of the coffee in his hand.

The cafe… they were going to meet up and study together. The thought had crossed Tony’s mind, at some point in the previous six hours.

“I’m sorry,” Tony said to his wall, pushing back the blankets. “I was looking forward to it.”

He was, yesterday. Today though? No energy.

“No stress,” Bucky said, reaching out to hold Tony’s ankle. “Got my work done, but I don’t think you have?”

Tony shook his head. “Nope.”

“Due tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. How about you it up, and we work through it.”

Tony held up his head to raise an eyebrow at Bucky. “You can’t help me with my homework; I have to do it myself.”

“I know, but there’s no rule against me watching you work is there?”

Tony considered that for a moment, dropping his head back on the pillow. “I guess you’re right.”

“You wanna get up?”

“No,” Tony groaned, sitting up anyway. He pushed his hair out of his face, looking at Bucky properly. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” the corner of Bucky’s mouth ticked up in a smile. “Coffee?”

Tony reached out. “Please.”

Buck tapped his lips; Tony rolled his eyes, but crawled across the bed, and gave Bucky a kiss. Bucky handed the coffee over with a smile.

Tony gulped it down happily. “Pyjamas?”

“It’s a pyjama kind of day,” Bucky agreed.

Tony looked at Bucky’s outfit- jeans, leather jacket, shirt- and shook his head. “That why you’re wearing them?”

Bucky rolled his eyes, standing up and holding out his hand. “Shall we tackle the homework monster?”

Tony took the hand, coffee in the other, and followed Bucky to his study.

~

Tony got half an hour of homework done, before he dropped his pen to the floor, and dropped his head onto the desk.

Bucky reached out to rub the back of Tony’s neck. “What did your homework do?”

Bucky was great like this; he didn’t ask what was wrong, he asked other questions to get at the truth indirectly.

Tony rolled his head against the desk, before turning to the side to look at Bucky. “Why do you love me?”

“Because I do.”

“I can hardly stand myself,” Tony muttered. “How can you stand me?”

“Tony, you know that I love you. I’ve been with you all this time, I’m not going anywhere.”

Tony watched Bucky’s face for a moment, before blowing out a breath and closing his eyes. “I’m tired.”

“I figured you might be. Think you can finish your homework?”

Tony nodded, sitting up but eyes still closed. He propped up his head with his hand, turning to face Bucky.

He heard Bucky laugh softly. “How about I go make us a cup of coffee each, get you through your homework?”

Tony smiled, opening his eyes. “You are the best.”

Bucky shook his head, leaning forward to give Tony a kiss. “Be right back,” he spoke against Tony’s lips, before standing up and going to make coffee.

Tony closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the lingering aftermath of the kiss, before refocusing on the work. It wouldn’t take him long, and then he could spend proper time with Bucky.

Yeah, I can hardly stand myself. But Bucky seems to like me, so I should probably try and like me too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this idea- I might expand on it. Explore how the two of them got to this point, where their future might take them.


	9. "Go to hell"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 8: “Go to hell.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; established relationship; the prompt is not spoken at anyone

 

 

No matter how many years passed, some things would always be the same.

A shooting range, for example. You, plus your weapons, plus your target.

Bucky felt great comfort in the simplicity of the activity, a simplicity that time did not erode. Sure, the targets moved a lot more in this range, but that simple meant better practice for him.

The range didn’t question him, didn’t ask why he wasn’t hungry, why he didn’t want to watch a movie, why he didn’t want to just hang out.

“Go to hell,” Bucky muttered, destroying the final target.

“I don’t think there’s a spot in hell for lifeless targets.”

Bucky turned, seeing Tony leaning up against the wall behind him. Bucky enabled the safety on his gun, putting it in the weapons rack before coming to stand in front of Tony.

Bucky put one arm on the wall next to Tony’s head. “I think there’s a spot in hell for everything, and everyone.”

Bucky watched Tony swallow, watched the way his eyes darted across Bucky’s face, assessing him in that way that was pure Tony.

“Each to their own, I suppose.”

“Uh huh.”

Neither man made to move from their position.

“You planning on making a move Barnes? Because if-”

Whatever Tony was going to say, was swallowed up by Bucky’s lips, in a breathless kiss that threatened to steal his soul away.

The only way Bucky knew how to kiss.


	10. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m going to take care of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 9: “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m going to take care of you.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; Tony's in hospital; kind of first meeting; pre-relationship

  


“I know it might seem a bit unbelievable right now, I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I’m going to take care of you.”

Bucky raised an eyebrow at the man lying in a hospital bed. “I rather doubt that; I’m the one who is going to be looking after you, I think.”

Tony frowned at Bucky. “No, no, this was supposed to be me showing you that I have room for you, that I can take care of you. But it’s been ruined thanks to HYDRA.”

“You know, I’m kind of familiar with having HYDRA ruin my life.”

Tony stared at Bucky for a moment. “Was that a joke?”

Bucky raised his eyebrow again.

Tony pointed at Bucky. “That was a joke! You have quite the sense of humour, Mr Barnes. I look forward getting to know it.”

“And here I thought you’d want to get to know me.”

“Well,” Tony very obviously ran his eyes up and down Bucky’s body. “That too, I suppose.”

“Nice to know I’m a secondary thought. Luckily for you, my sense of humour is legendary.”

Tony gave Bucky an appreciative smile, a look Bucky was sure would have worked better had the man not been in a hospital bed, half of his body covered in bandages. “I think we’ll get along quite well. I look forward to getting to know you, Mr Barnes.”

“The feeling is mutual, Mr Stark.”

“Good to know,” Tony winced as he moved in the bed. “Once I’m out of here, you’ll see that I can take care of you.”

“Until then, I’ll take care of you.”

Tony held out his uninjured hand, which Bucky shook. “Sounds like the perfect plan.”

“You’ll see that perfect is the only type of plan I make,” Bucky replied, not letting go of Tony’s hand. For his part Tony made no move to let go either.

“Sounds perfect.”


	11. "There was a time before all of this"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 10: “There was a time before all of this.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; its a wedding; everyone is happy

  


“There was a time before all of this,” Bucky paused, taking a deep breath, steadying his voice. “There was a time where I thought that I had my life pretty much figured out. What I soon discovered was that life had a plan all of it’s own. And now, all these decades later, I think I’ve figured out where I want to be.” Bucky’s face broke out in a grin, unable to stop it any longer. “I am going to spend every day I have left by your side, Tony. If you’ll have me, of course.”

Tony laughed at that, squeezing Bucky’s hands. “You know my answer. It’d be a bit late to back out now.”

Bucky laughed with Tony, as did their guests. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Bucky took a breath again, looking into Tony’s eyes. “There’s nowhere I’d rather spend the rest of my life; by your side is where I’ll be.”

“My turn,” Tony said, nodding to himself. “Give me a moment, your speech has me on the verge of tears.”

“You’re not fooling anyone; we can all see the tears.”

Tony turned to his best man, and poked his tongue out at Rhodey. Rhodey shrugged his shoulders in reply.

“Anyway,” Tony turned back to Bucky, smile on his face. “You and me have been through enough to fill a hundred lifetimes. But everything we’ve been through has brought us to this day, standing in front of our family and declaring our love for each other. Though, to be fair, we haven’t exactly been subtle, have we?”

“You definitely weren’t subtle last night,” Sam said, shaking his head. “In the kitchen no less.”

“And the lounge,” Rhodey added.

“The training room.”

“The conference room.”

“Gentlemen,” Steve said, stopping the two best men. “If we go through all the places we’ve caught these two, we’d be here all day and they’d never get married.”

Everyone laughed at that.

“Steve’s right,” Tony smiled, resuming his vows. “We’ve never been subtle. And yeah, we’ve had our troubles. As if we’d get through anything without trouble. But we’re here now, and if that isn’t proof that we’re going to be fine, then I don’t know what is. I love you, and am going to spend every moment we have left showing you just how much.” Tony looked over Bucky’s shoulder at Sam. “In private, for your benefit Sam.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it, but thank you,” Sam nodded, getting more laughter from the room.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the two of you are perfect for each other,” Steve spoke again. “And it is my pleasure to announce you husband and husband. You may kiss.”

“Keep it G-rated!” Sam called out as the applause began.

Tony and Bucky shared a look, coming to a silent agreement. Bucky dipped Tony, and the pair shared a definitely not g-rated kiss.

The laughter and applause only served to encourage the newlyweds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy prompt is happy.  
> Yes, Steve was the officiant for the wedding. Rhodey & Sam as best men. Everyone in attendance.  
> Because this is a HAPPY universe where everyone is HAPPY


	12. "No one will ever believe us"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 11: “No one will ever believe us.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; established relationship

  


“You know, we’ve done and seen a lot of crazy things in our lifetimes,” Bucky rolled his head to look at Tony. “But no one will ever believe us about this.”

“What, why not?”

“You and I, taking out an entire base by ourselves, after being kidnapped and held in said base?”

“What? We can be resourceful when we need to be,” Tony observed as he threw the gun he had been using to the ground. He turned to raise an eyebrow at Bucky. “Well?”

Bucky shrugged. “We can, but they all think that we’re sworn enemies.”

“Yeah, why do they think that?” Tony walked over to Bucky.

Bucky shrugged, holding his arms out. “No idea.”

“I mean, we’ve been dating for almost a year.” Tony stepped into Bucky’s space, wrapping his arms around Bucky.

Bucky laughed, returning the hug. “I am aware, yes.”

“Why do they think we’re enemies?”    

“No idea.”

“Guess we’ll just have to step up the public displays of affection then.”

“I’m sure it’ll be a real hardship.”

“So hard.” Tony looked up at Bucky, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “No idea how we’ll survive.”

Bucky laughed, kissing Tony’s forehead. “They’ll never believe us.”

“They’ll think we’re tricking them.”

“Let ‘em.” At Bucky’s confused head tilt, Tony reached up to kiss Bucky. “Always fun to prove people wrong. How long till they get here?”

“Probably an hour, max. Why?”

Bucky’s answer was in Tony’s smile. A very enjoyable hour was spent together waiting for ‘rescue’.


	13. "Don't come near me or I swear I'll kill you"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 12: “Don’t come near me or I swear I’ll kill you”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; AU- different first meeting; Tony is captured by HYDRA; but instead of being scared of the Winter Soldier; plans an escape

  


The Winter Soldier, the most feared man in the world.

And Tony was locked in a room with him.

How is this my life?

Tony hadn’t taken his eyes off of the Soldier once since being locked in here. The Soldier hadn’t looked up once.

What is he playing at?

The Soldier took a step towards Tony, and Tony reacted the only way he knew.

He put his left foot forward, ready to attack. “Don’t come near me or I swear I’ll kill you.”

Tony didn’t think he was that threatening, especially not to somelike like the Winter Soldier. But the man flinched at Tony’s words, and looked up at him from under his hair.

“Please.”

Tony thought he had misheard the word. “What did you say?”

The Winter Soldier looked up at Tony, and looked… sad?

“Please.”

“That’s what I thought you said. You want me to kill you?”

The Soldier shook his head. “Maybe. I don’t want… things.”

Tony watched emotions play across the Soldier’s face. “Why are we in here?”

The Soldier frowned, looking down at his left arm. It was hanging limply at his side. “You need to fix this.”

“Says who?”

“They do,” The Soldier said, seeming scared of the word.

Tony took a step forward, looking at the arm. He held out a hand. “May I?”

The Soldier nodded, looking down as Tony came to stand at his side.

The arm was like nothing he had ever seen, which was a shock. Thought I was on the cutting edge of technology.

“I’m not going to be able to do anything without any tools.”

The soldier shook his head. “They won’t let you have any.”

“If we had tools, we’d be able to escape?”

The Soldier nodded.

A smile grew on Tony’s lips. “Well then, I think it’s time to plan a little escape.”


	14. “My hobby is making fun of you while you talk”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 13: “My hobby is making fun of you while you talk”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; accidental declarations of love; happy endings

 

 

Bucky had been living as an Avenger for almost two years now, and he was the first to admit that it wasn’t always the smoothest journey. But the good parts definitely outweighed the negatives.

He was part of this family that had been assembled; like a family, they had their fights,  but they were always there for each other when it mattered.

Bucky appreciated it, he truly did. They were a family that had each other’s backs, no matter what. Bucky needed.

Family, yes. They were all family.

Maybe less family like, were his feelings towards Tony Stark.

He hadn’t realised what he felt about Tony, not at first anyway. Even now, he wasn’t able to tell you when they shifted from friends to more-than-friends.

Not that you’d be able to tell by looking at the pair interacting.

Sure, they had their moments of ‘normalcy’. They ate meals together, they watched films together, they trained together.

And then there was the weird.

Tony would often take the last seat in the room, moving Bucky to the ground. In retaliation, Bucky would pull faces as Tony talked. Tony would leave an empty pot of coffee on the counter; Bucky would only leave the crusts of loaves of bread.

No one would look at the pair and expect to see what was happening now. Tony was working on an upgrade for his armour’s software, while Bucky sat opposite him in the workshop. Neither man talked; Tony was focussed on his work. And Bucky?

Bucky was frowning.

“You’re doing that thing again.”

Bucky looked up from the bench top; Tony was typing on his computer, giving Bucky an amused look.

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “What thing?”

“That thing where you glare at the table like it’s done something wrong.” Tony stopped typing, turning to face Bucky fully. “What’s the matter?”

Bucky shrugged his shoulders. “No idea.”

Tony turned off his computer, pushing it to the side and leaning his elbows on the bench top. “Out with it.”

“My hobby is making fun of you when you talk.”

Bucky frowned, not having meant to say that. Tony, for his part, merely raised an eyebrow in response.

“Okay?”

“I pull faces,” Bucky elaborated, before shaking his head and looking up at Tony. “And I don’t do it out of malice, believe me.”

“I believe you.”

“I do it out of love.” Bucky didn’t realise what he had said, until he noted the way Tony’s eyes had widened. “Shit.”

“Didn’t mean to say that?”

There was no accusation in Tony’s voice, nothing to indicate that he was upset by what Bucky had just admitted to.

Thankfully; only makes this slightly less awkward.

Still, Bucky closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Nope.”

Bucky heard laughter, before he felt a kiss on his lips. His eyes flew open, staring into Tony’s.

Tony gave him a smile. “If you were joking, please let me know. If you weren’t, I-”

Whatever Tony was going to say, was cut off by Bucky leaning forward to resume the kiss.


	15. "I used to do a lot of things"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 14: “I used to do a lot of things.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; toying with the media

  


“Mr Stark-”

“Please, Tony is fine,” Tony laughed, holding up a hand.

Christine nodded, looking back at her notes. For show, as if anyone doesn’t know that she’s had her questions memorised for the entire day, at least.

“Tony then,” Christine gave him a smile, putting down her notes. “It’s almost impossible to think of questions to ask you. Sometimes it feels like we already know everything there is to know about you.”

Tony gave Christine a less than genuine smile. “You could say that.”

“Your mind has, arguably, shaped and reshaped modern warfare.” Christine’s smile turned knowing; Tony merely raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for whatever was about to happen. “You also used to be a regular at every club, every night, with a different date. You used to be-”

Tony coughed, leaning forward in his chair, taking off hi glasses. “If you don’t mind the interruption?”

Christine nodded. “By all means, Tony.”

“Thank you,” Tony gave her a smile, laying on the charm. “I used to do a lot of things. I don’t deny that. After all, my past is basically public record at this stage.” A small laughter spread throughout the crowd; Tony turned to the crowd to give them a wink, before refocusing on Christine. “But I’m not the same man I once was. The physical changes are, well, rather obvious.” Tony tapped the reactor, before shrugging. “But to your points; yes, I used to make weapons. But since I stopped all weapon production, and invested every last minute of my company’s time into sustainable practices, the company has reached heights I never could have dreamed of, never mind the millions of lives saved. As to the other point…” Tony sat back, a secretive smirk on his face. “I’m happy to say that I am in a relationship, have been for almost two years now.”

An excited murmur went around the crowd; Tony waved at them, while Christine was left speechless.

“A… two years?”

Tony nodded, putting his glasses back on. “Yes. Now, if you don’t mind, I have someone to see.”

Tony waved to the crowd, and to the cameras, as he left the set.

 

~

 

“Did you know he was going to do that?” Sam asked Bucky, turning to face him.

Bucky nodded, smile on his face. “Yeah, we talked about it yesterday. But notice what he didn’t say?”

“He didn’t say who he was in a relationship with.”

“Exactly.” Bucky gave Sam a conspiratorial smile. “Now the press is going to go crazy analysing all of his movements, while in the meantime we can enjoy the privacy.”

“You just like pissing off the media.”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah, we both do.”

“Both do what?”

Bucky and Sam looked over the couch, watching Tony walk in. Bucky stood up, wrapping Tony in his arms.

“Oh, you watched the interview, did you?” Tony asked.

“As if you didn’t know,” Bucky replied. “You looked like you had fun.”

Tony nodded. “I did.”

“Should I leave you too alone?”

Bucky and Tony turned to Sam, who was looking at them with an unamused expression. They turned back to each other, shrugging, before letting go. Tony took hold of Bucky’s hand, and began walking towards the elevator.

“We’ll leave you be,” Bucky smiled over his shoulder at Sam, who rolled his eyes.

“Totally what I meant.”

“You like winding him up,” Tony muttered to Bucky.

“Not going to deny it,” Bucky said with a smile. “Almost as fun as winding up the media.”

“Almost?”

“Well, at the end of the day, I don’t like the media.” Bucky put his arm around Tony’s shoulders as the elevator extended, kissing the top of Tony’s head. “How long?”

“Until we make an announcement?” Tony waved a hand. “When the media figures it out.”

“So… never?”

“Sounds like a plan.”


	16. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve moved on and I have to be okay with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 15: “It doesn’t matter. You’ve moved on and I have to be okay with that.”
> 
> Tags:  
> AU- nonpowered; Past WinterIron.

  


 

It wasn’t an ideal situation. Then again, was there any way for this to be ideal?

Running into the man you were in love with for so many years was always going to be difficult, always going to bring back memories.

It may have been a mutual decision to separate. It may have been the only choice for the two of you. But that didn’t mean that the instincts were gone.

The automatic instinct to lean in for a hug and a kiss. Awkwardly stumbling around each other, until one of you takes the initiative.

Tony did, putting his hand in his pocket, other holding a cup of coffee. “Bucky. How… how are you?”

Bucky shrugged his shoulders, hand holding a tray with two coffees in it. “Still sleeping like shit. Though that’s probably never going to go away.”

“No, it won’t,” Tony spoke from experience. He stared at Bucky for a moment, before shaking out of it. “How’s…” the words caught in Tony’s throat, unable to voice them.

Bucky knew what he was asking though. Bucky always knew what Tony meant with his half sentences, his quarte-formed thoughts.

“Yeah, it’s going…” Bucky paused, thinking over his choice of words. “It’s going well.”

Tony couldn’t help but notice the way Bucky’s eyes lit up at the reference to his current relationship. It was a look that used to be directed to Tony.

“I’m happy for you.” The words were true. Really. I am happy for Bucky; he deserves happiness.

Bucky frowned at Tony. He began to reach out to Tony. “Tony?”

Tony shook his head, taking his hand out of his pocket to hold it up between them. “It doesn’t matter. You’ve moved on and I have to be okay with that. I am okay with that.”

“Tony,” Bucky breathed out, shaking his head. “Just… I still consider you my friend. And I’d like to…” Bucky stopped, lowering his hand. “Not having you in my life is strange.”

“I feel the same,” Tony muttered, looking down at his feet. “I saw how you lit up at the mention of your current relationship.  I’m telling you the truth; I am happy for you.”

Bucky swallowed a couple of times, jaw forming words that he left unsaid. He eventually sighed. “I, uh, we’re having a party. Saturday. If you don’t think it’d be weird, you should come.”

“Party,” Tony echoed.

Bucky winced. “Yeah. House warming.”

“I’ll be there.”

It was hard to tell who was more surprised by the words that came out of Tony’s mouth then.

Bucky recovered first, nodding. “Okay. Yeah. I’ll text you the address.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Bucky smiled, nodding again. “I should actually go before the coffee goes completely cold.”

“Yeah,” Tony looked up at Bucky. “Saturday?”

“Saturday.” Bucky nodded, taking the opportunity to leave the coffee shop.

Tony watched Bucky leave, and stood in the same spot for another five minutes, not quite finding the energy to move.

It wasn’t until someone bumped into him that he snapped out of it, skulling his coffee and leaving the store. But not before slamming the empty cup into the trash.


	17. "Do you wish things had happened differently?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 16: “Do you wish things had happened differently?”
> 
> continuation of previous chapter
> 
> Tags:  
> AU-non-powered; past WinterIron

 

 

Rhodey had also been invited to the housewarming, and had agreed to go with Tony.

“You’re sure about this?” Rhodey had asked him multiple times.

Tony nodded, holding the plant in his hands. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

He left out how he had decided he wasn’t coming fifty times between the invite and walking up the stairs to the apartment. If asked, Tony couldn’t tell you why he was here. Masochistic streak? Maybe.

Hoping to find the way to move on? Maybe. Because maybe Tony hadn’t moved on because he hadn’t seen a reason to. Maybe Tony thought there was still a chance with Bucky.

And while Bucky’s relationship was an unknown thing, only told to him in vague terms, Tony could believe that. But here he was, standing outside Bucky’s new home, and undeniable proof that Bucky had moved on.

Rhodey entered first, Tony following behind.

“Rhodes!” Bucky smiled, coming over to greet them. “And Tony. You made it.”

Bucky’s smile was so genuine. Tony held out the plant.

“For luck,” he muttered.

Bucky took the plant, looking at it. “It’s great. Thank you Tony.”

Tony rubbed at his forearm. “You’re welcome.”

“This is a nice place,” Rhodey said, interrupting the awkward silence that was threatening between the pair.

“Yeah, it kind of is,” Bucky smiled as he looked around the room, smile on his face. He saw someone, and waved. “I better go- I’m glad you could make it.”

“Yeah,” Tony muttered as he watched Bucky walk away.

“Do you wish things had happened differently?”

Tony turned to Rhodey, expression carefully blank. “No.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow in response; Tony sighed, looking back at the party. Watching Bucky put his hands around someone, leaning in close. Whispering something in their ear. Tony shook his head, turning back to Rhodey.

“Bucky has a life, a happy life by the looks of it. Sure, I wish I could have been the one to give it to him. But I’m not going to begrudge him his happiness.”

Rhodey put an arm around Tony’s shoulders. “Come on, let’s go find some food.”

Tony let himself be dragged around by Rhodey, smiling the whole time. No one noticed that the smile didn’t reach his eyes, or if they did, they didn’t comment on it.

Tony figured two people saw it. One was by his side the entire night.

The other, Tony purposefully avoided looking at.

_I don’t begrudge him his happiness._

_I don’t._

By the end of the night, Tony’s smile was almost genuine.


	18. “Don’t you dare look him in the eye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 17: “Don’t you dare look him in the eye.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; ish; establishd relationship; captured; of course they escape; Tony's got a black eye; Bucky's protective

  


There were times when Bucky really hated their chosen profession.

He bet there were couples out there that didn’t have to deal with having their partner being kidnapped by supervillains.

And then when he had found Tony, he had gotten trapped with him.

“Rescue?” Tony had given him a sardonic expression.

Bucky rolled his eyes. “Tried to. What’re we dealing with?”

“AIM,” Tony answered, gesturing around the prison they were in. “Not very creative, but it’s impossible to get out of.”

Bucky stopped trying to plan an escape, focusing on Tony’s face. He was trying to cover it, but he was blinking a quarter of a second slower.

Bucky took a step towards Tony, raising a hand before lowering it. Can’t give them any extra intel.

“What happened to your eye?”

Tony turned to the side, blocking Bucky’s view of his eye. “Nothing.”

Bucky frowned at Tony. “Nothing.”

“They might have punched me,” Tony turned back to Bucky, rubbing his hands together. “Trying to get information.”

“Might have.” Bucky shook his head, opening his mouth to say more. He was interrupted from saying more when company arrived.

“Move away from Stark. Please.”

Bucky turned, putting himself between Tony and their guest. A quick assessment revealed a typical higher up, not afraid to get their hands dirty (if the scars on their knuckles were to be believed).

“I think I’m quite comfortable where I am.” Bucky crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

Their captor rolled their eyes. “This doesn’t need to be difficult. I just want to talk to Stark.”

Their captor leaned to the side, trying to see Tony. Bucky moved with them. “Don’t you dare look him in the eye.”

“It’s okay,” Tony stepped around Bucky, putting on a smile. “The answer’s still no, Paul.”

“My name is not Paul.”

Tony shrugged. “You didn’t tell me, so I gave you one. You do realise who we are, right?”

“Iron Man and the Winter Soldier.”

“Yes, yes. And we have friends, don’t we?” Tony turned to Bucky, expression questioning. “Powerful friends?”

Bucky smiled, looking up at ‘Paul’. “Avengers. You may have heard of them?”

‘Paul’ waved him off. “They’re of no concern. We have planned-”

‘Paul’s speech was cut off by a distant explosion. Bucky surged forward, using ‘Paul’s surprise to knock him out through the bars. Bucky reached into the pocket, getting the key to the cell and opening it.

Bucky dropped ‘Paul’ to the ground, turning to offer Tony a hand. “Shall we?”

Tony smiled as he took Bucky’s hand, the two beginning to fight their way through the base towards the other Avengers. “Thought you’d never ask.”


	19. "I'll be here as long as it takes"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt 18: “I’ll be here as long as it takes.”
> 
> Takes place in the same universe as chapter 8.
> 
> Tags:  
> au; university students; Tony does not like Tony; but he's trying; earlier than chapter 8; neither of them are okay; but they're trying

  


Tony focused on his coffee. Watched his hands pick up the mug, watch the mug move to his mouth, closed his eyes as he took a sip, opened his eyes to return the mug to the table, let go of the mug put his hands in his lap.

_And breath out._

“Today was a bad day,” Tony said to his mug. “Too much energy, not enough progress. Didn’t even touch the laptop.”

“Your assignment isn’t due for another two weeks. You’re not behind.”

Tony twisted his lips, focusing on the way they pulled at his face. He then untwisted them, looking up at Bucky. “You sure?”

Bucky nodded, picking up Tony’s diary. Circled with a yellow highlighter was a date two weeks away.

Tony nodded, and Bucky put down the diary. “Okay, so I have two more weeks. But I could’ve had it done last week.”

“You didn’t finish it last week,” Bucky shrugged, pulling his own notebook towards himself. “So you finish it this week. No difference to your marks.”

“To my marks, sure. But it makes a difference in here,” Tony waved at his head, poking out his tongue. “And it shouldn’t. I know that. But it makes a difference.”

Bucky looked at Tony, tilting his head. “I get that. You want to control your homework, because it is a controllable part of your life. Control it, and maybe you can control everything else.”

Tony laughed at that. “Yeah, no, I’m not controlling anything.”

Bucky waved his hand. “One day you might think differently. For now, I have my notes to go over; what are you going to do?”

Tony focused on his coffee again, watching every movement of his. When he put it down again, he had an answer for Bucky.

“I’m going to open my laptop. Then I’m going to open my coding program, and write five lines. Then I’m going to run a simulation for my work tomorrow. That simulation won’t finish until the morning, when I’ll write more code.”

Bucky smiled at Tony, nodding. “That’s a great plan.”

“Yours?”

Bucky tapped his notebook. “I’m going over my notes for tomorrow’s class. I’m teaching them about Ancient Egypt. I’m seeing if I’ve left anything out, where the gaps might be.”

“There aren’t any gaps.”

“Maybe not. But I’m checking, and I’ll probably check again while I’m standing outside the room waiting for the previous class to finish.” Bucky pushed his hand through his hair, blowing out a breath. “It makes me feel better about it. More prepared.”

Tony made a decision; he got up out of his chair, and walked to the other side of the table. He leant down, putting his arms around Bucky’s shoulders and resting his head on Bucky’s shoulder. “You’re the best. Stay?”

Bucky smiled, turning to give Tony’s temple a kiss. “We’ve got to finish our work; ’ll be here as long as it takes.”

Tony looked up, not letting go of Bucky. “You’ll stay the night, right?”

Bucky nodded, pressing a light kiss to Tony’s lips. “Sure thing.”

Tony smiled, returning the kiss, before letting go and sitting back at the table. He pulled his laptop closer, starting it up. He watched Bucky reading his notes, mouthing the words as he went.

Tony then got his glasses, putting them on and opening up his coding program.

_Five lines. Then simulation. Then sleep. With Bucky._

_And in the morning? Who knows what tomorrow will bring. But Bucky will be by my side, so how bad can it be?_


	20. “We were never meant to fight on our own.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 19. “We were never meant to fight on our own.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; canon; Bucky is worried about something; he isn't sure what; but it's okay; Tony's there; and Tony's great; fluff?; I think it's fluff

  


“You know, sometimes I wonder what I did in a past life to get you in my life. Because I certainly haven’t done anything in this life that deserves you.”

Tony frowned at Bucky, putting down his tablet. “What?”

Bucky waved a hand towards Tony, still looking down at the table. “I deserve to have a life of solitude after everything I’ve done.”

“Bucky, if there is one thing I know, it’s that we were never meant to fight on our own. Whether that fight is against others or ourselves.”

Bucky looked up at Tony, a smile threatening to break out on his face. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

Tony nodded. “Course I do. You’re not alone, and you don’t deserve to be.”

Bucky shrugged, drumming his fingers against the table. “You’re the genius in this relationship can’t exactly argue with you.”

“What’s really bugging you?”

Bucky thought for a moment, before looking up at Tony. “Not sure. Not exactly, anyway. I think it’s time for bed.”

Tony nodded, standing up and holding out a hand to Bucky. “Let’s go then.”

Bucky looked back at the tablet Tony had been working on. “Don’t you have work to do?”

“Nothing that can’t wait until morning,” Tony answered easily. “Shall we?”

Bucky took the offered hand, standing up and pulling Tony into a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered against Tony’s neck.

Tony tightened his hold on Bucky, closing his eyes. “Not going anywhere, sweetheart.”


	21. "Something's clearly wrong"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 20: “Something’s clearly wrong.”
> 
> tags:  
> established relationship; canon; Tony injures himself; Bucky to the rescue

  


Tony re-wired the gauntlet, pointing it at the target. The target did not move.

“15%,” Tony muttered, changing the wires again. And again, no result.

“Fine. 50%.”

This time, the force of the shot forced Tony backwards, landing on his back.

“Ow.”

Tony lay staring at the roof, not willing to move. Not even the gauntlet could get him to move. He didn’t know how long he lay there, before Bucky walked into his vision.

“Something’s clearly wrong.”

Tony frowned up at Bucky. “What makes you say that?”

Bucky pointed at Tony’s shoulder. “That looks dislocated.”

Tony tried to lift his arm, closing his eyes immediately. “Yeah, you might be right.”

Tony heard Bucky laugh, before opening his eyes to Bucky helping him to sit up. Bucky sat in front of Tony, tilting his head slightly. “What’s really the matter?”

“The gauntlet won’t work against synthetic alloys,” Tony waved his free hand towards the target, which still stood.

“Okay,” Bucky reached for the gauntlet. “How about we take it off, and then get your arm back where it’s supposed to be.”

“I don’t understand what went wrong,” Tony said as Bucky set about doing what he had said. “I upped the power output, and nothing changed.”

“Could you need a different frequency?”

Tony stared at Bucky like his face held thee answers to the universe. Well, until he set Tony’s arm back.

“Ow,” Tony frowned at Bucky, who smiled.

“You’re not really sore, are you?”

Tony shook his head, standing up with Bucky’s help. “Had worse. Different frequency, you say?”

“We should make sure that you haven’t done anymore more than dislocate your shoulder.”

“I’ve had worse.”

Bucky tightened his hold around Tony’s waist. “Not the point.”

Tony heaved a put upon sigh, leaning his head on Bucky’s shoulder. “Oh, my hero. Whatever would I do without you?”

Bucky paused in order to kiss Tony’s cheek, before resuming their path to the medical wing. “You won’t have to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: this is the most popular prompt so far over on tumblr.


	22. "There's nothing I can do anymore"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 21: “There’s nothing I can do anymore.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; established relationship; Tony reveals their relationship to the media; Bucky does not react as expected

  


“Well, that’s it!” Tony declared, dropping down onto the couch beside Bucky, who was reading on a tablet. “There’s nothing I can do anymore.”

Bucky lifted his arm, Tony sliding into his embrace. “Oh?”

“The world now knows that I am completely, irreversibly in love with you.”

“Oh, that,” Bucky said, not looking up from his tablet.

Tony pinched Bucky’s side lightly. “Don’t sound excited or anything.”

Bucky laughed, putting down his tablet and turning to look at Tony. “The world knows that we’re in love?”

“Yes.”

“And does that change anything between us?”

“No.”

“So why would I be worried?”

“Not worried, didn’t expect you to be worried,” Tony shook his head, leaning down to lean his head on Bucky’s shoulder. “Didn’t expect you to keep reading your book without looking up, is all.”

Bucky pressed a kiss to Tony’s cheek. “I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” Tony closed his eyes, kicking his feet up onto the table.

“Good,” Bucky reached out to pick up his tablet again. “Because you interrupted a seriously good chapter.”

This time, Tony joined in the laughter.


	23. "This is going to hurt"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 22: “This is going to hurt.”
> 
> For the chapter 17 Anon, and everyone else who didn't like that chapter.  
> I've AU'd my AU.
> 
> Tags:  
> AU- nonpowered; past winteriron; but not for long; happy ending; or the potential for one

****

It wasn’t an ideal situation. Then again, was there any way for this to be ideal?

Running into the man you were in love with for so many years was always going to be difficult, always going to bring back memories.

It may have been two years since you had seen each other. It may have killed a little bit of your heart when he ran away. But that didn’t mean that the instincts were gone, even now.

The automatic instinct to lean in for a hug and a kiss. Awkwardly stumbling around each other, until one of you takes the initiative.

Tony did, putting his hand in his pocket, other holding a cup of coffee. “Bucky. How… how are you?”

Bucky shrugged his shoulders, hand holding a coffee. “Still sleeping like shit. Though that’s probably never going to go away.”

“No, it won’t,” Tony spoke from experience. He stared at Bucky for a moment, before shaking out of it. He gestured to a nearby table, the pair sitting down across from each other.  _ Just like we used to.  _  “How’s…” the words caught in Tony’s throat, unable to voice them.

Bucky knew what he was asking though. Bucky  _ always  _ knew what Tony meant with his half sentences, his quarter-formed thoughts. 

Bucky gave him a shake of the head. “I’m not seeing anyone.”

Tony  _ felt  _ his eyes go wide at that. “What?”

“Not seeing anyone,” Bucky repeated, a hint of a smile at his lips before he raised his cup to drink. Swallowing the mouthful, he focused back on Tony. “This is going to hurt.”

When Bucky didn’t elaborate, Tony reached across the table, resting his hand over Bucky’s.  It may have been two years, but he could still recognise the expression on Bucky’s face.

“What is it?”

Bucky huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. “I’m still in love with you. Have been every single day.”

“What?”

“Like I said, this is going to hurt.” Bucky shook his head again. He turned his hand over, holding onto Tony’s loosely. “Walking away from you was one of the worst decisions of my life. And you know my life; there’s a few bad choices in there.”

Tony didn’t know how to react to that, not right away. He looked at their hands, the way they fit together. 

_ Just like they used to _ .

“What…” Tony paused, clearing his throat, before looking up at Bucky. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, that I would like to have another chance. Of making us work.” Bucky paused, his turn to look at their hands. “I was an idiot two years ago, an idiot who was afraid of commitment. When you asked… I panicked, and ran.”

“You did a bit more than run.” Bucky had left, without a word. Two years, and all Tony had heard was whispers from friends.

“I deserve that, I know.” Bucky looked up at Tony, not looking a day older than when he had left. “I made some bad choices, got turned around a bit. But every day? Every day I spent figuring out how to fix my mistake.”

“You’re serious?”

Bucky nodded.

“I… I don’t think we can go right back to where we left things,” Tony said, looking straight at Bucky’s eyes. “I don’t think that would be fair on either of us. But I wouldn’t mind a chance to try again.”

Bucky nodded, squeezing Tony’s hand. “How about Friday, my place. I’ll cook dinner, and we can talk.”

“I’d like that,” Tony began to smile, before the ringing of his phone forced him to look away from Bucky. “Work. I’m already half an hour late.”

“Same old Tony?”

Tony nodded, reluctantly letting go of Bucky’s hand and standing up. Bucky stood as well, walking by his side.

“Mind if I walk with you? To the station, at least?”

They walked in silence, the promise of a potential beginning keeping each man silent. At the station, they turned to each other, reenacting the awkwardness of their first interaction earlier.

This time, Bucky was the one to take the initiative, leaning in to press a quick kiss to the corner of Tony’s lips.  _ Just like he used to do, so many times during the day. _

“Friday, Mr Stark?”

“Friday, Mr Barnes.”

Bucky waved with a smile, before descending to the station. 

Tony walked the remainder of his way with a smile on his face; when asked, he said that he had a chance at a new beginning again.


	24. "I don't need to be the hero tonight"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 23: “I don’t need to be the hero tonight.”
> 
> Tags:  
> canon; established relationship; being a hero means you lose sometimes; and that sucks

 

Keeping a tally of so called “wins” and “losses” in their profession was a terrible idea. Because yes, there were going to be days that went to the “losses” tally. And yes, those days were more common than they would like them to be. 

So having a visual reminder of that fact? Not a great idea.

It didn’t mean that people didn’t keep a mental tally. Those were a bit harder to control. 

Didn’t mean that Bucky couldn’t tell when Tony was counting every last blasted mark on his mental tally. 

It wasn’t an activity reserved for after bad missions; no, it was an activity which could occur at any time, with little or no provocation. Sometimes Tony would go silent, mouth slowly forming names, and Bucky would just  _ know _ . 

Tonight was one of those nights. Tony was sitting on the edge of their bed, wearing only his sleeping pants. His hands were hanging between his legs, and his lips were moving silently. His eyes were unseeing; Tony didn’t even register Bucky’s presence in the room.

Bucky moved to sit behind Tony, knowing that Tony knew he was there. He put his hands on Tony’s shoulders, beginning to massage them.

Bucky watched as Tony blew out a breath, his head dropping slightly. He felt Tony’s shoulders relaxing under his hands, and he pressed a kiss to them.

“I don’t need to be the hero tonight. I am Tony.” Tony paused, shaking his head. Bucky knew that Tony had also squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m here, Bucky is here, we’re together.”

“Together,” Bucky whispered, pressing another kiss to Tony’s shoulders. Tony lifted his head, and turned around on the bed. He now knelt on the bed, hands on Bucky’s shoulders to steady him. 

“Together,” Tony whispered, looking into Bucky’s eyes. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Bucky reached up to hold Tony’s hands. “You know that.”

Tony smiled a little, more like a hitch of his lips than an actual smile. He moved his hands to around Bucky’s shoulders, resting his head on Bucky’s shoulder. 

Bucky moved his hands to return the hug; one hand running up and down Tony’s spine, the other held in place against the back of Tony’s neck. 

He felt the tears on his neck, Tony’s huffs of breath, before his breathing evened out. Bucky, very carefully, maneuvered them so that they were lying in bed, without waking Tony. JARVIS turned out the lights for them.


	25. "Am I ever going to see you again?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 24: “Am I ever going to see you again?”
> 
> Tags:  
> AU- medieval; prince! Tony; Knight!Bucky; kind of a prequel to chapter 4; Tony gets kidnapped; Bucky rescues him

 

It wasn’t every day that a prince was put in danger by-

Oh, who was Tony kidding; he was put in danger  _ every day, sometimes twice on Sunday. _

This threat was no different than the hundreds of others he had faced; the only downside was that he was thoroughly surrounded by armed bandits.

“Just what do you plan on doing with me?” He asked his captors, who were sitting around a campfire while Tony was tied to a tree, just out of reach of the fire’s warmth. “After all, I hope you haven’t just kidnapped me for  _ money _ .”

There was laughter from the bandits, before one answered him. “Oh, there’s quite a bit of money involved for us.”

“Uh huh.” Tony was not impressed; usually, he was kidnapped by rivals to the throne. The money had been less of an incentive as Tony grew older.

He was interrupted by a rustling sound; looking over at the campfire, he saw no one else had heard the sound. Tony turned to the sound, and came face to face with a stranger.

The stranger immediately put a finger to his lips; when Tony nodded, the stranger lowered his hand, smiling at Tony. He then pulled out a knife, a blade that Tony recognised as one of his own. 

The stranger made quick work of the ropes, and he and Tony were long gone before the bandits realised what had happened. 

“Do you make a habit of saving people?” Tony asked, once the pair were far enough away.

The stranger nodded. “If I can help others, then yes. We should get going, your family will be wondering where you are.”

Tony shook his head. “Not yet; sometimes they don’t see me for a week. They won’t be worried yet.”

The stranger nodded, before walking again, Tony keeping pace with him. A beam of moonlight reflected off of the blade at the stranger’s hip, and Tony recalled his recognition of the blade.

“You’re a knight.”

“I was.”

Tony recognised that tone of voice;  _ drop it _ . “I made that knife, you know.”

The stranger looked at Tony with renewed interest. “So you  _ are  _ prince Anthony. I suspected you might be.”

“Tony, and yes. I’m the prince. I don’t recognise you though.”

The stranger laughed. “You are fishing for a name. If you must, James will suffice.”

“Thank you for rescuing me, James. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find me?”

James pointed Tony to a modest house, on the outskirts of town. “Your captors rode right past my house, and weren’t very quiet about it. I will walk with you back to the castle.”

Tony watched James out of the corner of his eye; he didn’t look much older than Tony, possibly even the same age.  _ Definitely too young to have retired willingly. _

_ Though only having one arm probably forced the issue. Was he born with only one or- _

“I lost it during a time I do not wish to recall.” At Tony’s surprised expression, James almost smiled. “You were talking aloud.”

Tony sighed, shaking his head. “I get into trouble  _ so much  _ because I talk when I don’t realise I am. Sorry.”

James waved his worries aside. “To tell you the truth, it is somewhat nice to have someone not be scared to talk around me.”

“Oh?”

“You might have noticed that I live on the outskirts of town?” At Tony’s nod, James continued. “People don’t know how to talk to me. So I thought, why bother living in the middle of town, when I can just as easily live away from everyone?”

“There is a certain logic to that,” Tony agreed. “Sometimes I wish I could move to where I didn’t have to speak to anyone.”

“Well, my door is always open.” They had reached the castle; James turned to Tony, inclining his head. “My prince.”

As James took a step away, Tony reached out, the words out of hi mouth before he knew it. “Am I ever going to see you again?”

James looked almost amused, but that may have been a trick of the moonlight. “I suspect that we might, my prince.”

“Tony, just Tony.”

“Very well. Goodnight, just Tony.”

Tony watched James leave, and couldn’t stop the smile on his face. 

_ I can only hope that fate sees fit to allow me to cross paths with James again. _


	26. "We always have a choice"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 25: “We always have a choice.”
> 
> Tags:  
> Bucky doesn't think he's worth dating; Bucky is not the most confident person here; but Tony reassures him; Ace!Bucky

 

“There’s a lot about me which doesn’t make sense. Doesn’t line up in my head, doesn’t match what people tell me. It doesn’t matter though; I know who I am.” Bucky paused, looking up from his hands. “I am not someone you want to date.”

Tony looked back at him, looking calm. “No one is perfect. What’s really the matter?”

Bucky shook his heads. “We always have a choice. That’s what they tell us, right? But I  _ didn’t  _ have a choice. Not in any meaningful way. I’ve done the therapy, but that doesn’t mean my head’s any better.” Bucky paused again, frowning at the thoughts that wouldn’t form. “I don’t want to date you.”

Tony didn’t look upset, which Bucky thought he would. “So you don’t want to date me. That is fine, I’m not forcing you to date me.”

“You’re serious,” Bucky all but whispered, staring across at Tony. “Why are you being so understanding?”

“Because I know what it’s like to be forced into a relationship you don’t want to have. I wouldn’t wish that on you.”

Bucky began chewing his lip, looking down at his hands again. “But I like you.”

“Okay?”

“I like you,” Bucky looked up at Tony again. “But I don’t want to have sex with you.”

“Just because two people are dating, doesn’t mean that they have to have sex.”

Bucky’s eyes widened at Tony. “It doesn’t?”

Tony shook his head. “Nope. The question is, what do  _ you  _ want out of dating someone?”

Bucky thought about that for a moment. “I… I would want to hold your hand. Cuddle on the couch. Maybe kiss? I’m not completely sure on the kissing. Physical contact, yes. But not… sex.”

“Walks on the beach, going to the movies, staying in and watching tv until we fall asleep together on the couch?” When Bucky nodded, Tony smiled. “Sounds perfect.”   
“Okay,” Bucky whispered, watching Tony. “So are we dating?”

“Yes?”

“Yes,” Bucky repeated, confident in his decision. He wiped at his eyes. “Pretty sure a relationship shouldn’t start with me crying.”

Tony shrugged, standing up and offering Bucky a hand. “Who says what should happen? How about we go watch a movie?”

Bucky looked at the hand, then at Tony, then back at the hand. Nodding to himself, he stood up, taking Tony’s hand in his. It felt…  _ right _ . 

“What movie did you have in mind?”

Tony hummed, rubbing the back of Bucky’s hand with his thumb as they walked through to the couch. “Not entirely sure yet. Any suggestions?”

Turns out, Bucky had  _ many  _ suggestions on what movie to watch. 

And sitting on that couch, holding Tony’s hand, Bucky thought that maybe he might have a chance at something here.  _ Something nice. _


	27. "You're holding back"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 26: "You're holding back"
> 
> Tags:  
> AU- supernatural creatures; Vampire!Bucky; Tony is also not quite human; established relationship; dancing in the kitchen

There’s years,  _ centuries,  _ of history telling Bucky why this was a bad idea. Centuries of tales of vampires who had gone and fallen in love with mortals. Oh, they tried to deny it, tried to push it aside in their histories. But the tales were there, and they almost always ended the same way. 

But that didn’t mean that Bucky loved Tony any less. No, Bucky was downright, head to toe, hopelessly in love with his mortal, Tony. Tony, with the quickest mind Bucky had encountered in his entire life. Tony, who loved Bucky just as much, if not more.

There was a part of Bucky’s mind, the logical part, which warned him against this relationship, had warned him about it since the beginning.  _ Only heartache can result from this path.  _

Bucky had never put much stock in the logical part of his brain. And so here they were, celebrating their first anniversary together by spending the night in.

“You’re holding back,” Tony whispered against Bucky’s neck, the pair dancing around Tony’s apartment. “What is taking you away from me tonight?”

Bucky shook his head, kissing Tony’s cheek. “Nothing of concern, my love.”

Tony lifted his head up to give Bucky a frown. “Wanna try again?”

Bucky sighed, stopping the dance but not letting go of Tony’s hands. “I have lied to you, my love. Ever since the moment we met, I knew you would be special to me. But perhaps I underestimated just  _ how  _ special.”

“Bucky,” Tony’s voice was concerned, matching his expression. “What aren’t you saying?”

Bucky took a breath, before telling Tony what he should have the moment that they met. “I am a vampire.”

“I know.”

Bucky let go of Tony’s hands, confusion evident. “You know?”

Tony nodded, not surprised by Bucky’s expression. “Ever since we met.”

“How?”

Tony tapped his chest, the sound of the plate echoing in the room. “Not entirely human myself. I didn’t inherit much from mum, but I did inherit her ability to sense the truth.”

“But you stayed with me?”

“I also knew you would be special to me,” Tony reached out to take Bucky’s hands, holding them against his chest. “You saw how broken I was, but you didn’t care. So why should I? I knew you would never hurt me, and I know enough about vampires to know that you can’t cast them all in a bad light.”

Bucky looked at their entwined hands, before looking up into Tony’s eyes. “I love you.”

Tony’s smile was brilliant. “Love you too. Now,” Tony stepped back, holding up their hands between them. “May I have this dance?”

Bucky’s smile matched Tonys, and they resumed their dance around the apartment. 


	28. "I don't want to feel like this in the morning"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 27: “I don’t want to feel like this tomorrow.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; Tony's sick; Bucky makes him feel better

 

For rather obvious reasons, Tony had a weaker immune system than he once had. As such, he was extremely careful with keeping up with his vaccinations. 

And yet here he was, curled up in his blanket, staring out at the world like it had personally offended him. 

“You comfortable there?”

Tony blinked, Bucky coming into focus in front of him. 

“Where have you been?”

“You knew I was on a mission,” Bucky stepped forward, reaching out to touch Tony’s forehead. “How long have you had a temperature for?”

“Not long.”

“Sixteen hours.”

Tony frowned. “Traitor.”

“JARVIS is just looking out for you, sweetheart,” Bucky sat down on the bed in front of Tony, still looking at him with concern. “You taken anything?”

“Antibiotics, that sort of thing. It’s just a cold.”

“I can confirm that it is in fact ‘just a cold’.”

“Thank you JARVIS,” Bucky smiled, tilting his head at Tony. “Anything I can get you?”

Tony considered this for a moment. “I could do with a hug.”

“Then you’ll have to come out of that cocoon of yours.”

Tony looked at his blanket, before looking back at Bucky. “Do I have to?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow in response; Tony pushed his blanket off, holding his arms out. Bucky shifted on the bed, so that Tony was in his arms, and he was leaning against the headrest. Bucky pulled up the blanket so that it was covering the both of them.

“Better?”

Tony nodded against Bucky’s chest. “Better. I don’t want to feel like this tomorrow; I’ll sleep for five minutes, then I’ll get up.”

Bucky didn’t believe it; and when, five minutes later, Tony was still asleep? Bucky couldn’t find it in himself to move, also falling asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: *this* is now my most popular drabble on tumblr


	29. "Is that a threat?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 29: "Is that a threat?"
> 
> Tags:  
>  married; there's a baby; generic villain threatens Tony's family; Tony doesn't take kindly to that; baby is cute; domestic fluff

  1. **“Is that a threat?”**



 

Board meetings were terrible, but they weren’t as bad as one on one meetings, in Tony’s opinion.

Board meetings? You could at least  _ pretend  _ to listen, and no one would call you on it.

One on one? No way to hide.

Anyone who managed to get themselves a one on one with Tony himself fell into one of two categories:

 

  1. They must have something worth talking about. 
  2. An obvious attempt to get to Tony directly, for nefarious purposes. 



 

This one fit into category two.  He’d spent twenty minutes talking about how much he loved Stark Industries, how inspired he was, etc.

Normally, Tony was more than happy to help out in trapping those in the second category. This evening though, he was somewhat distracted.  Just before the meeting, Bucky had sent a photo to Tony of Erin. Erin had been beaming at the camera, with a spanner in hand. Bucky had captioned the photo  _ like father, like daughter _ . 

Tony would much prefer to be at home with his husband and daughter, thank you very much. 

“Mr Smith,” Tony interrupted the man, holding up a hand. “Not that I don’t enjoy listening to you credit my company with everything, is there a point to your visit?”

Mr Smith-  _ and that was almost certainly a fake name _ \- straightened his tie, before seeming to focus on Tony with a laser like intensity. “Well, Mr Stark, I have noticed that your attention had been, shall we say,  _ lacking  _ lately.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s understandable, of course. You have a young child. How old is Erin, one and a half? Exciting times in her life, I’m sure.”

“A point, Mr Smith?”

“If you value your daughter-”

Tony sat up in his chair, leaning forward over his desk. “Is that a threat?”

Mr Smith didn’t back down. “It would have been, if you hadn’t of interrupted.”

Tony shook his head, shark like smile on his face. “You honestly think I’ll feel threatened by you?”

“Well, no,” Mr Smith conceded. “Not you personally. Though I thought you would be more worried about your daughter.”

Tony shook his head again, almost on the verge of laughter. “Why would I be worried? Never mind who her parents are, you are aware of who her family is? The Avengers, you might have heard of them. You’re not the first to threaten my daughter, Mr Smith, and you won’t be the last. Sorry if I don’t feel particularly worried.” Tony stood up, Mr Smith also standing. Tony walked to the door, opening it to reveal Happy.

“Also, just so you are aware, we take  _ every  _ threat seriously. So I’m sure you won’t mind escorting my head of security on a tour to the car park.”

“Right this way,” Happy gave Mr Smith a fake smile. Tony nodded to Happy, walking down the corridor the opposite way.

 

~

 

Tony all but collapsed onto the couch in his living room,  _ finally  _ home after a very long day. His eyes popped open when he heard a very familiar laugh. 

Tony sat up, and was met with the image of his daughter sitting on the couch beside him, smile wide. 

“Heya Erin,” Tony opened his arms, and Erin crawled onto his lap. He wrapped her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. She giggled the entire time. “Where’s your dad?”

“Right behind you.”

Tony looked up, smiling at Bucky. “Hey you.”

“Hey yourself,” Bucky gave Tony a kiss, before jumping over the back of the couch and sitting beside him. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too.” Tony hugged Erin again, who was patting his cheek. “Yes, Erin. I missed you as well.”

“Dinner’s in the oven,” Bucky moved over, holding out a hand for Erin to fuss over. “How was work?”

Tony rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “No work talk in front of Erin, don’t want to worry her. I’m home all day tomorrow though.”

Bucky frowned at Tony. “Erin’s spending the day with Sam.”

“Yes, yes she is.”

Tony could see the moment the meaning registered in Bucky’s eyes. “Oh.”

“Oh,” Tony echoed, laughing. He turned to Erin, still smiling. “No one said your dad was smart,  _ mia bella _ .”

Erin laughed with Tony, while Bucky just shook his head. He stood up, walking towards the kitchen.

“Come on you two, dinner time.”

“Come on  _ bella _ ,” Tony stood up, Erin’s smile still clear on her face. “We better go see what chaos your dad has made in the kitchen this time.”

“Chaos,” Bucky muttered, bringing over two plates of food. Erin’s plate was already on the table. “Like this chaos is any worse than when  _ you  _ cook.”

“Rude. My cooking is wonderful.”

“Uh huh,” Bucky nodded slowly, sitting next to Erin. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”

Tony shook his head fondly, watching as Erin poked at her food. 

_ No matter how long a day it is,  _ this  _ is what I get to come home to. My husband and my daughter; my family.  _


	30. "If you don't like this world then change it"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 29: "If you don't like this world then change it."
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; Tony finds a device; which he's tempted to use; but doesn't

“There is a lot in this world that I would change, if I could.” Tony looked down at the device in his hands. “But that’s no longer a hypothetical question, is it?”

“It is not,” the Hologram agreed. “You can change it.”

“But what gives me the right to change it?” Tony asked as he turned the device over in his hands.

The Hologram- which looked  _ so much  _ like Bucky - tilted its head at Tony. “If you don’t like this world then change it.”

Tony looked up, device still in his hands. “Why did you take his image?”

“Sorry?”

Tony waved at the Hologram. “You didn’t choose that image at random. No chance.”

The Hologram smiled. “You are correct; the image was chosen to have you feel at ease. The image of someone you trust more than anything.”

Tony smiled at that. “And that there is why I won’t be using the device.”

“You won’t?”

Tony shook his head, moving the device from hand to hand. “Nope. Our world might be messed up, might suck sometimes, but it’s  _ ours _ . And I’m not going to change it.”

The Hologram looked uncomfortable, or as uncomfortable as a hologram could. “That is not the purpose of the device.”

“I’ve spent a lifetime subverting expectations. If I let go of this, you fade out?”

“Yes.”

Tony waved a hand as he put the device down. The Hologram faded out of existence.

“Can’t have anyone finding you,” Tony muttered, looking at the device. He put on his gauntlet, and disintegrated the device.

 

~

 

“What did you find in there?” Bucky asked when Tony came out of the chamber.

“Huh?”

“You were in there a while.” Bucky titled his head, looking at Tony. “What did you see?”

Tony waved Bucky off, walking towards the jet. “Oh, nothing. I got lost.”

“Lost?” Bucky didn’t sound convinced.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to tell Bucky just  _ what  _ he had seen. 

_ None of it’s believable, and the stuff that is? Can’t be spoken of.  _

Bucky gave him a Look, before shrugging. “Suit yourself; you’ll tell me if it’s important.”

_ Of course.  _


	31. "Are you kidding me? We're not fine!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 30: "Are you kidding me? We're not fine!"
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; they crash land on a 'deserted' island; it's not deserted; Clint to the rescue

“This is a typical Avengers mission,” Tony shrugged, walking in a circle with his hand outstretched. “This is fine.”

Bucky looked at Tony like he had grown a second head. (Which, in their line of work? Not impossible. Certainly a 60% chance. 65% if it’s Wednesday.)

“Are you kidding me? We’re not fine!”

“Why not?”

“Why not?” Bucky pointed at their meagre fire, barely casting enough light to see by. “There’s  _ that _ , for one.”

Tony turned to the fire, frowning at it. “What’s wrong with the fire?”

“The fact that we  _ need  _ one. Because we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no help coming.”

Tony shook his head, turning to look at Bucky. “Help will be coming.”

“How will they know where to find us?”

“Soon as the jet exploded, a signal would have been sent to the tower.” Tony looked up at the sky, mouth forming words that Bucky couldn’t hear. “An hour, max. Home by midnight, for sure.”

Bucky crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m concerned with how calm you are about this.”

Tony shrugged, coming over to put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder. “Hey, I’ve learnt to not sweat the small stuff. Sure, we’re on a deserted island, you have no weapons, I have no armour. But it could be worse.”

“Worse?”

“The island could  _ not  _ be deserted,” Tony explained, going up onto the tips of his toes to press a kiss to Bucky’s forehead. “Relax, and enjoy a wonderful sunset.”

“A couple of hours, you say?” At Tony’s nod, Bucky uncrossed his arms, putting one around Tony. “I can handle a couple of hours on a deserted island.”

 

~

 

“Deserted island!” Bucky yelled, storming onto the jet, Tony on his heels. “Deserted, you said!”

“I know!”

“We can watch the sunset, you said.”

“I know!”

“And another-” Bucky stopped when the sound of a throat being cleared was heard. He turned towards the sound, to see an unamused Clint standing there.

“Gentlemen,” he nodded at them both. “Care to refrain from yelling loud enough that even  _ I  _ could hear you.”

“Sorry,” Bucky apologised, waving a hand at Tony. “But  _ someone  _ said that we’d be fine.”

“Rescue came, didn’t it?”

“Yeah,  _ after we were chased by dinosaurs _ !”

“How was I supposed to know?”

Clint shook his head, turning back to fly the jet.  _ Just another day in paradise. Give it a minute, they’ll be kissing. _

(Clint lied; it only took forty three seconds.)


	32. “You may be an idiot, but you’re my idiot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 31: “You may be an idiot, but you’re my idiot.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; Tony injures himself; Bucky to the rescue

 

 

“What on earth?!” Bucky yelled, taking in the disarray of the workshop. He ran into the room, dropping to his knees in front of Tony. “Tony!”

Tony blinked heavily, slowly opening his eyes. “Hey Bucky, long time no see.”

“Long…” Bucky shook his head, moving his hands to Tony’s face. “What happened?”

“I may have, and this is just conjecture at this moment… I  _ may  _ have overloaded the gauntlet. Maybe.”

“And it backfired?”

Tony nodded, closing his eyes. “‘M sorry.”

Bucky pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead. “Don’t be sorry. Anything broken?” When Tony shook his head, Bucky stood up, pulling Tony up with him, holding him close. “How’d you overload it?”

“Wasn’t paying attention. Was distracted,” Tony muttered, leaning heavily on Bucky. “Am an idiot.”

“You may be an idiot, but you’re my idiot,” Bucky said, tightening his hold on Tony. “How about I take you to have a shower, then get into bed?”

Tony looked up at Bucky, a smile on his face. “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Bucky smiled back, moving to begin walking towards the elevator. “Like I said, you’re  _ my  _ idiot.”


	33. “Keep your eyes on me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 32: “Keep your eyes on me.”
> 
> Tags:  
> domestic; or as domestic as these two can get; established relationship

 

 

Bucky tore up the course, of course he did. It was almost like it had been designed  _ for  _ him; nothing was too difficult.  

“Was this designed for me?” He questioned after crossing the line, easily catching his breath.

“The course changes for each person dependent on their strengths and weaknesses,” Tony said, walking over with a bottle of water. “But I  _ may  _ have tweaked it a bit. Still in testing mode, after all.”

“May have?” Bucky echoed, accepting the bottle of water. “You’re not sure?”

Tony shrugged, tapping away on a tablet he had brought with him. “It’s an idea I had. Have a course that adapts to the participant’s skill set. I’m not entirely certain on the coding yet, so we’re in testing mode.”

“Uh huh.”

“And if I can get the data I need  _ and  _ watch your, frankly  _ amazing _ , body flying through the course?” Tony turned the tablet off, holding it against his chest as he gave Bucky a saccharine smile. “Who could blame me?”

Bucky laughed, shaking his head as he handed back the water bottle. He moved back towards the start of the course. “I would say to keep your eyes on me, but somehow I don’t think you need the reminder.”

He heard Tony’s laughter from across the room. “You know me all too well, Mr Barnes. Now, let’s see how you handle level 2.”

Bucky smiled at Tony’s words, knowing that level two couldn’t be  _ that  _ bad.

(Turns out, it was the complete  _ opposite  _ of level one. Because apparently Tony liked to see him struggle sometimes.)


	34. “You can lie to yourself but don’t lie to me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 33: “You can lie to yourself but don’t lie to me.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; late nights; Bucky can't sleep; he isn't fine; Tony isn't fooled by Bucky's act; Part 1

 

There was so much about his life that he wouldn’t change. But by the same token, there was so much that he’d like to change.

Bucky had been through more than anyone should have to in a lifetime; at least, that’s what everyone kept telling him. They meant well, he knew that, but that didn’t make him feel any better. 

_ He  _ was the one who had to live through the sleepless nights;  _ he  _ was the one who had to try and explain to people why he was staring into nothing, ‘but there’s nothin’ to worry about, Steve. Promise.’

He had managed to fool just about anyone, including himself. The one person he couldn’t fool?

Tony Stark.

It probably had something to do with shared life experiences, Bucky figured. But whenever Tony looked at him, Bucky just  _ knew  _ that Tony could see straight into his soul. 

It was two am, or two thirty seven, if he was being precise. And he should be; he could tell the time to the second. Might as well put that skill to some use. 

Bucky was sitting on the kitchen counter, staring at the fridge in the darkness. Tonight’s thoughts were particularly difficult to parse; so difficult, he couldn’t stay in bed with Tony. 

Hence, the kitchen.

The darkness helped, he thought. Shadows were always easier to hide in than the light. As long as he kept his eyes open, he wouldn’t see anything. 

_ Wouldn’t see faces in the snow, life draining out of them as they  _ pleaded  _ for help. As they- _

Bucky was brought out of the memory by the light being turned on; Tony was standing in front of him. 

“I didn’t hear you come in,” Bucky said honestly.

Tony reached out a hand; at Bucky’s nod, he put it on Bucky’s neck, rubbing a thumb against it. “Heard you leave. Thought you were just going to the toilet, or getting a snack. But two hours have passed, and I’m worried about you.”

Bucky reached up to Tony’s wrist, rubbing it. “Don’t be, I’m fine.”

Tony shook his head, smile sad. “You can lie to yourself but don’t lie to me. You’re not fine.”

Bucky sighed, closing his eyes and dropping his head. “I’m not fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continued in next chapter


	35. "I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 34: “I wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; late nights; Bucky can't sleep; he isn't fine; Tony isn't fooled by Bucky's act; Part 2; hot chocolate fixes things; neither is going anywhere; domestic winteriron

 

“I’m not fine,” Bucky admitted, eyes still closed. “I’m not fine, and I don’t know what to do.”

Tony wanted to reach out and hold Bucky, but knew that he needed his space right this minute. “Okay, can you talk to me about it?”

Bucky shook his head, paused, and opened his eyes. He looked up at Tony through his hair. “You don’t want to hear about my memories.”

“Probably not, I’m sure. I am here for you; tell me what you need.”

“A hot chocolate?” Bucky asked, attempting to form a smile. Tony nodded, moving away to beginning making one. “I feel like crap.”

“A hot chocolate will make you feel better,” Tony said over his shoulder, before turning back to the milk on the stove.

“I wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing,” Bucky whispered into the silence, barely loud enough for Tony to hear. 

Tony focused on finishing the hot chocolate; if Bucky wanted to talk, he would. Tony knew that being forced to talk when you didn’t want to be was a terrible feeling.

When Tony turned around with a hot chocolate in hand, Bucky’s head was up, tilted to the side. 

Tony handed over the mug, before jumping up onto the counter next to Bucky. Bucky drank half of it, before he talked again.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime, you know that.”

Bucky nodded, before leaning onto Tony’s shoulder. “I know.”

They sat there, sitting on top of the kitchen counter; Bucky slowly finishing his drink, Tony sitting there rubbing idle drawings onto Bucky’s thigh. They sat there for half an hour, at least, before Bucky spoke again.

“The hot chocolate could’ve been better.”

“Oh?” Tony asked, not moving.

Bucky nodded against Tony’s shoulder, mug placed on the counter behind him. “Yup. Not your best.”

“Shame, I thought it was good,” Tony shrugged, putting an arm around Bucky’s shoulders. “Back to bed?”

Bucky shook his head, waving a hand behind them. “Television on the couch sounds better.”

Tony nodded, pushing Bucky up. “Alright then, to the couch.”

Bucky took Tony’s hand, and took them over ot the couch. Bucky set them up so that Tony was laing across the couch, head in Bucky’s lap, and a blanket for each of them.

Bucky wouldn’t be sleeping, Tony knew that, but he had set them up so that Tony could. 

“Go to sleep Tony,” Bucky said, hand in Tony’s hand. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

Tony smiled up at Bucky, the  _ ‘you too _ ’ going unsaid. “See you in the morning.”

“Not going anywhere.”

 


	36. “If you make one more stupid pun, I will literally stab you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 35: “If you make one more stupid pun, I will literally stab you.”
> 
> tags:  
> established relationship; text messages; Bucky likes puns; Tony reacts accordingly

 

From: 8

Tony

 

To: 8

What?

 

From: 8

Did you know

No matter how kind you are

German children are kinder

 

To: 8

Bucky

stop

 

From: 8

They’re  _ kinder eggs _

 

To: 8

If you make one more stupid pun, I will literally stab you.

 

From: 8

Can’t take a yolk?

Alright, I’ll walk on eggshells

I’ll stop cracking yolks

 

To: 8

I know where you sleep

 

From: 8

Obviously. Beside you.

 

To: 8

I know where your secret supply of chocolate is

 

From: 8

Tony….

 

To: 8

I will tell Clint and Natasha where to find it

 

From: 8

Tony please don’t

 

To: 8

No more puns?

 

From: 8

My lips are sealed.

 

To: 8

Good.

 

From: 8

How about a joke?

 

To: 8

Oh look, Clint just walked in.

 

From: 8

I’M MOVING THE CHOCOLATE RIGHT NOW

 

~

 

“Why are you smiling?” Clint asked, frowning across the table at Tony, who was smiling at his phone. “On second thought, don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to know.”

“That depends Barton,” Tony looked up, putting his phone to the side. “How _kind_ are you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is Bucky saved as '8' in Tony's phone?  
> Bucky Barnes= BB= BB8.
> 
> Sci Fi nerds.


	37. “I wasn’t going to mention it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 36: “I wasn’t going to mention it.”
> 
> tags:  
> pre-relationship; Tony is concerned about Bucky; Bucky clears things up; a little; part 1

 

“You know, we’ve been around this little dance before.” Bucky was tucked up on the couch, legs crossed under the blanket he had finished yesterday, arms crossed over his chest. His hair was loose, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. (Which, knowing Bucky, was probably true. Usually, he put some effort into  _ appearing  _ fine. But not today.) 

“This little dance?” Tony had come in with two cups of coffee, fully intending to sit on the couch beside Bucky while answering emails for work. It was their usual Tuesday morning no-Avengers-call routine.

Tony had taken one look at Bucky, and known  _ something  _ was wrong. He had put down the two cups, and pulled over a chair to sit in front of Bucky.

“You and me,” Bucky said, looking straight through Tony. “We pretend we’re good, we pretend we’re friends.”

“Pretend?”

Bucky looked down at his lap, frowning to himself as he traced over the pattern he had made. “I wasn’t going to mention it. I had decided that no, I didn’t need to mention it. Because pretending we’re good  _ was  _ good. I was good.” Bucky swallowed, looking up at Tony again, this time looking  _ at  _ him, not  _ through  _ him. “But it’s not good anymore, so I have to tell you.”

Bucky fell silent, watching Tony. Tony kept his face blank, not wanting to judge before he had all of the facts. “What do you have to tell me?”

Bucky swallowed again, and Tony knew that whatever it was, Bucky was struggling with giving the thought a voice.  _ Whatever it is, it is probably going to hurt. _

Whatever Tony was expecting it wasn’t the four words that Bucky said. 

“That I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in next chapter


	38. “I tried my best to not feel anything for you. Guess what? I failed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 37: “I tried my best to not feel anything for you. Guess what? I failed.”
> 
> tags;  
> Part 2; confessions of love; from both sides
> 
> Note:  
> This chapter is told from Bucky's thoughts; no descriptions of anything. Just Bucky's thoughts, and dialogue.

 

 

“That I love you.”

_ There, I’ve said it. Now he’s going to walk away, disgusted with me, and I won’t have to talk to him again. _

_ Only, Tony isn’t walking away. _

“You love me?”

_ Why is he  _ asking  _ me? I said it, didn’t I? _

_ Did I?” _

“Yes. I tried my best to not feel anything for you. Guess what? I failed. I love you, Tony Stark. Sorry.”

_ Why is he frowning? _

“Why are you sorry?”

_ Why wouldn’t I be?  _ “Because you deserve someone so much better than me. Look at me, I am so much of a mess. And you only see the outside.”

_ Yes, he doesn’t see the inside. He doesn’t see the horror. He doesn’t hear the constant screams. He doesn’t feel the cold. He doesn’t smell the metal. He doesn’t taste the blood. _

“Bucky,  _ I  _ don’t deserve  _ you _ .”

_ What?  _ “What?”

“I play the showman, I play at confidence. But you only see the outside. I love you, Bucky Barnes.”

_ That… almost makes sense? But… _

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“Why didn’t you?”

_ He has a point. Maybe it’s time to stop hiding behind your blanket.  _

“Would you like to sit under the blanket with me?”

“I’d love to.”

_ So no disgust? _

_ Probably not, considering the way he’s letting me wrap myself around him.  _

_ A possibility? _

_ A possibility of hope. _


	39. “I’m here for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 38: “I’m here for you.”
> 
> This is a poem, about how much in love they are.

 

 

You don’t say “I love you” to each other, not in those exact words anyway. And if asked, neither of you would be able to tell when exactly it was that the two of you discovered you are in love. 

But you don’t need those “three little words” to know, to  _ know _ , that you’re in love.

It’s in the way he smiles at you before he’s had a cup of coffee, while everyone else can hope for nothing more than a glare. 

It’s in the way he slumps against you at any moment, seeking that warmth that only you can provide.

It’s in the way he makes you lunch, without you having to mention that you’re hungry.

It’s in the way he wraps his arms around you, like he’s never going to let go.

It’s in the way he falls asleep by your side, and is there when you wake up in the morning.

It’s in the way he is there instantly when you need him, always knowing what to do.

It’s in the way you know he’s always going to be there for you, without either of you having to say it.

And you know he has a list, the same as this one, that is all about you.

And you know that it’s love, just not in those exact words.

~

The way he says “I’ll make a hot chocolate,” instead of saying “What is wrong?”

The way he says “You free tonight?” instead of saying “Do you have work to do?

The way he says “I’m here for you,” instead of saying “I love you.”

The way he says “I have an idea”, instead of saying “Let’s  _ do  _ this.”

The way he says “I thought of you when I saw this,” instead of saying “I can’t  _ stop  _ thinking about you.”

The way he says “I love you” without  _ ever  _ saying it in those words.

The way he doesn’t have to say those words, because you  _ know _ that you’re in love, and  _ know  _ that the feeling is mutual. 

And you know he has a list, the same as this one, that is all about you.

And you know that it’s love, just not in those exact words.


	40. “What are you so happy about?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 39: “What are you so happy about?”
> 
> tags:  
> happily engaged winteriron; domestic; sweet; this is just them being sweet

 

 

Tony was humming as he moved around the kitchen. He hadn’t noticed Bucky’s presence; Bucky was leaning against the doorway, watching Tony move around. He looked so  _ happy _ , it was nice to see.

Eventually Tony noticed Bucky; Tony smiled wide, but didn’t stop humming and dancing around. 

Bucky pushed himself off of the doorway, walking over and taking Tony’s hands, joining in the dance.

“Morning sunshine,” Tony beamed up at Bucky. “How are you?”

“Wonderful,” Bucky smiled back, bending down to kiss Tony. “What are you so happy about?”

Tony hummed, continuing to dance. “I don’t know,” Tony shrugged, before lifting his left hand in front of their faces. The rays from the rising sun glinted off of the gold band. “No idea why I’d be happy this morning. Nope.”

Bucky took Tony’s hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it. “You’re right. No idea why it’s such a beautiful morning.”

Tony laughed, leaning up to kiss Bucky. “Gotta go save the pancakes. Blueberry alright?”

“Of course,” Bucky let Tony go, watching him finish up their breakfast.

_ Our first breakfast as an engaged couple.  _


	41. “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 40: “That’s not what I meant and you know it!”
> 
>  
> 
> tags:  
> sleepy Tony; sleepy Bucky; they're both sleepy; and both say sleepy things

 

 

“There are times where I have to pinch myself and make sure I’m not dreaming,” Tony said, rolling over onto his back and staring at the roof. Bucky muttered into his pillow, and Tony continued.  “And there are times where I just wait for the other shoe to drop, you know?”

Bucky hummed, rolling over closer to Tony. Tony turned his head, smiling down at Bucky.

“And you’re not listening to a word I say, are you?”

Bucky shook his head, before blinking his eyes open. “Sorry.”

Tony waved it off, holding out his arm; Bucky moved over, turning his face into Tony’s chest. 

“Not a problem, I’m the one who keeps talking while you sleep. Should probably stop doing that, shouldn’t I?”

Bucky mumbled in his sleep; Tony smiled at that.

“But I won’t stop. Because this is  _ real _ , and it’s great, and I never want it to end. Ever.”

Bucky reached up a hand, putting it over Tony’s mouth. “Sleep, Tony. Talk later.”

“Thought you fell back asleep.”

“Tryin’ to. Disappointed?”

“Kinda.”

Bucky woke up at that, sitting up and frowning at Tony. “Really?”

Tony also sat up, moving back against the headboard. “It just slipped out.”

“Just slipped out?” Bucky raised an eyebrow, tilting his head. “Sounds like you’re disappointed or something.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Tony yelled, before covering his mouth with his hands. “That didn’t come out right.” Tony dropped his hands, also dropping his head. “I’m tired.”

Bucky didn’t laugh, reaching out to up Tony’s cheek. “Figured you might be. How about a rain check until the morning?”

Tony nodded, letting Bucky pull them both back into a lying position. Bucky pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead. “Sleep Tony.”

“Sleep Bucky,” Tony mumbled, eyes already closed. 


	42. “You’re putting words in my mouth!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 41: “You’re putting words in my mouth!”
> 
> Tags:  
> pre-relationship; the world confuses Bucky; but maybe not as much as Tony does

 

“There are times where I have no idea what’s going on in the world,” Bucky frowned as he scrolled through the news on his tablet. 

“Only times?” 

Bucky looked up from his tablet; Tony was sliding into the seat opposite of Bucky, a cup of coffee in each hand. 

Bucky put down the tablet, accepting a cup. “The world is confusing. Missing out on chunks of it doesn’t help.”

“No, I imagine it wouldn’t. If it’s any consolation, I think it’s also confusing sometimes.”

Bucky frowned at Tony. “ _ You _ ?”

“Huh?” Tony looked confused by Bucky’s confusion.  _ Very eloquent, Barnes.  _

“You’re  _ confused  _ about something? And admitting it?”

Tony pointed at Bucky with his cup. “You’re putting words in my mouth!”

“Hey,  _ I’m  _ not the one who said the world confuses him sometimes.”

Tony frowned at Bucky, watching him from over the top of his cup. “I was showing empathy.”

“Were you?” Bucky raised an eyebrow at Tony, a smile threatening to form at his lips. 

Tony watched Bucky as he took a sip of coffee, before putting his empty cup on the table. He leant forward on his elbows, pointing at Bucky. “I think you’re teasing me, Mr Barnes.”

“Me?” Bucky asked, putting a hand to his chest. “I’d  _ never  _ tease you, Mr Stark.”

Tony watched Bucky, standing up and picking up his empty coffee cup. “Now why do I have trouble believing you?” Tony asked as he turned, leaving the room. 

Bucky watched him go, only remembering to breath out when Tony had left his sight. 

_ I think you might have messed that up Barnes,  _ he thought to himself, picking up his tablet again.  _ The world may be confusing, but it’s downright  _ simple  _ when compared to Tony Stark. _


	43. “We have to stick together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 42: “We have to stick together.”
> 
> Tags:  
> post-apocalypse AU; established relationship

 

 

If you had talked to Tony three months ago, asking him where he saw himself,  _ ‘On the run in a superhero underground’ _ would not have even made the top ten. 

Because it  _ wasn’t  _ possible.  _ Right _ ?

Tony thought it wasn’t possible. And then Thanos had shown up, and the world went upside down. 

He didn’t spend more than a couple of hours in any one place, constantly on the move. He had no idea how long it had been like this; he liked to tell himself it was only three months, but sometimes he let himself ponder on the truth.

He hadn’t seen any Avenger since Before. Maybe he passed them on the street, maybe he traded food with them. He had no way of knowing. Sometimes, he couldn’t even remember their  _ names _ , let alone what they looked like. 

_ I barely remember my name most days. _

The world had been stripped of anything usable, before being abandoned. The remaining inhabitants had to scrabble together the barest scraps in an effort to get by. Some times, Tony didn’t eat for a week. But he kept walking, because the alternative was not even thinkable. 

To say that Tony never expected to see anyone he knew again was an understatement; so when he heard his name from behind, he was immediately on the defensive.

He had been walking down an alleyway; a shortcut to the next town and no one for miles both being benefits to this route. 

He spun around, hand already in his jacket, reaching for the knife he kept there. When he saw who it was, his arms dropped limply to his sides.

“Bucky.”

Bucky looked worse than Tony felt, but at Tony’s confirmation, he surged forward, pulling Tony into a hug. 

Tony quickly returned the embrace, turning his face into Bucky’s neck. 

“I can’t…” Tony’s voice broke on the words, pulling back and looking at Bucky. He shook his head, reaching up to trace a finger over Bucky’s forehead. “The same worried lines.”

Bucky smiled, or what could pass for a smile, tapping on Tony’s cheek. “One to talk.”

Tony tried to laugh, but he had long since forgotten how. “I don’t think I quite knew how much I had missed you until right now.”

“You’re not the only one.” Bucky stepped back, reaching down to take hold of Tony’s hand. “We have to stick together.”

“You’re not going to hear any complaints from me. You have a plan?”

Bucky nodded at his left arm, before beginning to walk. “I have a contact, said they’d have some wiring for me.”

“I’ve been looking for wiring for ages.”

Bucky paused, checking the alley’s exit, before they continued. “It’s taken a while. Gonna admit, I was scared of trying to rewire it myself. But with you here…”

“Might have a chance?”

Bucky nodded. “A chance.”


	44. "We'll get through this, I promise"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 43: “We’ll get through this. I promise.”
> 
> Wrenchirps over on tumblr sent me the following re: the previous chapter:  
> OHHHH yay postapocalyptic stuff! but i have so many questions! did thanos just leave? why would he leave the avengers alive? why doesn't tony remember? I assume he and bucky were togethe before? the world just belongs to the humans again, even if it's been mostly destroyed?
> 
> And I answered them with this.
> 
> Tags:  
> post-apocalypse; established relationship

 

 

There was no warning. Or maybe there was, and they all ignored it? Either way; one day, the earth was spinning. The Avengers were fighting AIM. The sky was blue.

The next, the earth stopped spinning. The Avengers were fighting Thanos. The sky was red. 

It didn’t make sense, there was no time to  _ make  _ it make sense. 

Thanos was clear in what he wanted; he wanted the earth.

But the Avengers, and the earth, weren’t going to go down without a fight.

So Thanos didn’t give them a choice. He had a weapon that targeted anyone with anomalies in their blood. This wasn’t exclusive to superheroes, but it was effective. 

Thanos eliminated any resistance; any who managed to survive knew they had no hope against  _ that _ . So they scattered. Every person left on the earth hid, found a corner to  _ survive _ .

And then one day, Thanos left. No one knew why, but he left, taking with him anything of value. 

So the earth was spared, but left a mere shell of what it once was. Skylines which once housed towers were now bare; technology was all but gone. 

What wasn’t known, was  _ why  _ Thanos left survivors. There was no logic to it; but then again, who could apply logic to one such as him?

In those first days, tt was clear to the Avengers that they could not stay together; such a concentration of ‘anomalies’ was sure to catch Thanos’s attention.

So they made the decision to scatter, knowing that they were unlikely to ever see each other again. 

To the surprise of no one, saying goodbye to family was difficult. Some made a clean cut, leaving in the middle of the night. Others lingered, trying to get every last moment together.

And then there was Tony and Bucky. 

How could anyone be expected to just walk away from what they had? Bucky certainly couldn’t do it. So he avoided it. 

He and Tony walked the same way, slept in the same places, did everything they could to prolong their inevitable separation.

A week, they were able to buy. 

They had slept under a doorway, to the sounds of explosions and rain. Bucky had awoken with a stiff arm, his other still wrapped around Tony. Tony, who was still asleep beside Bucky, head turned into Bucky’s chest. Tony’s face looked so relaxed, the worry not evident on his face. 

Looking at Tony, Bucky could pretend the world wasn’t falling apart around them. Bucky could pretend that the two of them could have their future together, like they had planned. 

 

_ “A summer wedding?” Tony had frowned at Bucky, looking up from his tablet. “Why wait?” _

_ Bucky stared at Tony, expression giving away nothing. “I hate winter.” _

_ Tony blinked, before nodding. “Understood. Summer wedding. First of June?” _

_ “First of June.” _

_ “Five months and four days. I suppose I can wait.” _

_ Bucky laughed, coming to stand behind Tony. He put his arms around Tony’s shoulders, leaning down to kiss Tony’s cheek. “Love you.” _

_ Tony turned his head, kissing Bucky’s lips. “Love you too.” _

 

They got a month together, thinking that they had all the time in the world. So you couldn’t blame Bucky for wanting to get every last moment together he could. 

He probably watched Tony sleep for an hour before Tony awoke, instantly closing his eyes against the early morning sun.

“Yuck,” he muttered, opening his eyes more slowly. “Has the world been saved yet?”

Bucky shook his head, leaning his head down on Tony’s shoulder. “Nope.”

“Bummer.”

Bucky closed his eyes, not wanting to move from his position.

“What’s wrong?”

Bucky sighed, sitting up and looking into Tony’s eyes. “We have to separate.”

Tony shook his head. “No we don’t.”

Bucky reached up, stroking Tony’s cheek. He gave Tony what he knew was the opposite of a reassuring smile. “My arm is beginning to slow. I’m a liability to you.”

Tony shook his head, reaching up to take Bucky’s hand. “That’s why we’ve got to  _ stay  _ together!”

“You know we’ve already pushed our luck staying together as long as we can. Once I start poking around for stuff to repair my arm, I’m going to draw attention, you know that.”

Tony twisted his lips together, clearly trying to avoid crying. “I don’t like it. We were supposed to get married.”

“I know,” Bucky picked up Tony’s hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing the ring there. It hadn’t lost any of it’s shine, still the same brilliant silver it had been when Bucky had first knelt down in front of Tony, heart in his throat.  “And we will. We’ll get through this. I promise.”

Tony shook his head, reaching out to push Bucky’s hair behind his ears. “Shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’ll prove you wrong then,” Bucky said, leaning forward to kiss Tony. “I’ll prove you wrong,” he spoke against Tony’s lips. “We’ll both get through this, and find each other again.”

Tony followed Bucky as he broke the kiss, getting one last one. He closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath. “We’ll get through this.”

“We will,” Bucky echoed, standing up and holding out a hand. He helped Tony up, and the two pulled each other into a hug. Neither will willing to let go, but eventually they did. 

Both had tears in their eyes as they turned their backs to each other, walking away without another word. Tony walked east, Bucky walked west.

Bucky watched his feet, focused on putting one foot in front of another. He  _ had  _ to find a way to survive; he had a promise to keep. 

~

A week later, Bucky came across a makeshift market. He spent three days there, mostly in the shadows, listening to stories from the people passing through. 

He had found enough material to fix his arm for now, and was more than happy to take a rest. 

His ears picked up a story of some kind of attack sixty kilometres east. Apparently there was a green smoke, and anyone who had been exposed had come out of it in varying states of wellbeing.

Some could remember  _ every _ thing in frightening detail.

Some couldn’t tell you their name.

Bucky listened to every story, hoping with every word that Tony was further away than sixty kilometres; his words still haunting him.

 

_ “We’ll get through this. I promise.” _


	45. “Don’t leave me behind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 44: “Don’t leave me behind.”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; Tony expects the worst; is pleasantly surprised

 

The thing is, Tony’s  _ been  _ here before. He’s had the happy life, the happy relationship, the hope of a future. But he’s also had the happiness pulled out from under him too many times to not be a little guarded nowadays. 

Too much of a good thing, and all that.

So watching the door to Fury’s office, where Bucky had been for the past hour? Nothing good was going through Tony’s head.

_ Bucky’s being sent on a deep cover year long mission. _

_ Bucky’s being taken off the Avengers. _

_ Bucky’s being sent away, with no words.  _

Nothing good, in any case. 

Tony sat there, staring at the door, refusing to move until he saw Bucky again.

Two hours later, Bucky finally came out of the office, holding out a hand to pull Tony to his feet.

“Don’t leave me behind,” were the first words out of Tony’s mouth. 

Bucky frowned at Tony. “Why would I leave you behind?”

Tony gestured to Fury’s door. “You were in there a long time. I assume you’re leaving.”

Bucky paused, turning to face Tony fully. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. You’re stuck with me.”

“Really?”

Bucky lifted his hands, putting them on Tony’s cheek, and leaned forward to kiss Tony. “Really.”

Bucky let go of Tony’s face, taking one of his hands and beginning to walk to the elevator. “We were just talking about things.”

“Things.”

Bucky shrugged. “Things. Of the ‘if I told ya, I’d hav’ta kill ya’ variety.”

Tony laughed at that. “Understood loud and clear. So, since you’re not going anywhere…”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, as the two stepped into the (empty) elevator. “Yes?”

Tony stepped forward, closing in on Bucky. “Got any plans for tonight?”

Bucky smiled as Tony continued coming closer, pressing the button to close the elevator doors closed. “I imagine you have an idea?”

Tony shrugged, finally close enough to kiss Bucky. “ _ You could say that _ .”


	46. “What are you looking at?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 45: “What are you looking at?”
> 
> tags:  
> pre-relationship; which turns into a relationship; Steve bets against Bucky; why would you do that Steve?

 

Bucky sat on Tony’s bed, fixing his cufflinks. He was accompanying Tony to a gala, and had scrubbed up  _ nicely _ , if you asked him.

But he had nothing on how well Tony scrubbed up. 

Tony had come out of the bathroom, only in his suit pants and a towel in his hair. He had taken one look at Bucky, and dropped his hands. 

“Uh…”

Bucky looked down at his suit, worried he had missed something. “Did I miss something?”

Tony blinked, before shaking his head, picking up the towel. “No, no, you look perfect! I mean…” Tony pointed to his wardrobe. “I’m going to… clothes are a thing…”

Bucky had watched Tony leave, tripping over his own feet. Bucky had smiled at the reaction, standing up to look at his reflection. 

Bucky ran a hand over his hair, still not quite confident in Clint’s advice.

__ _ “It looks great Barnes. It suits you.” _

__ _ “When did you get good at hair?” _

__ _ “Just because I  _ rock  _ the bed head, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to style hair. Trust me.” _

__ _ “The last time you told me to trust you, we ended up with five dogs and a mob after us.” _

__ _ “That was a good day.” _

 

Clint had helped Bucky to  _ ‘slick back’  _ his hair, saying that he wouldn’t have to worry about it getting into his eyes. So far, so good, and maybe Clint had a point. 

_ And clearly it got a reaction out of Tony. _

“Even better.”

Bucky turned around, seeing Tony standing there, head tilted. When Bucky turned around, Tony quickly righted his head, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Uh, I meant… you scrub up nice, Barnes.”

Bucky bit down on his first retort, instead running his eyes over Tony’s outfit. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr Stark.”

“Thanks, you too.” Tony’s eyes widened, and he lifted a hand to his face. “I’m a mess.”

“It’s cute.”

Tony lowered his hand, looking at Bucky. “Cute?”

Bucky held out a hand. “Shall we?”

~

“So?”

Bucky looked up from the coffee machine, finding Clint standing there, leaning against the counter. 

Bucky raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Clint rolled his eyes, jumping up on the counter. “So, how’d last night go? I hear Tony had eyes for only one good looking guy last night.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms and leaning back against the counter. “From who?”

“I know people,” Clint said, waving a hand. “Doesn’t matter. So,  _ how’d it go _ ?”

Bucky opened his mouth to reply, when Tony walked into the kitchen. 

“Morning Barton,” he mumbled, before walking straight to Bucky. Tony put his hands around Bucky’s waist, leaning his head on Bucky’s shoulder. “Morning Bucky.”

Bucky turned to press a kiss to Tony’s cheek, before looking up to Clint. Clint, whose eyes were wide and eyebrows high.

“Not a word.”

Clint held up a hand. “But how will I get my money from Steve?”

“What?”

“They had a bet,” Tony, more awake now, stood up, moving out of Bucky’s embrace to finish making the coffees. “Which one of us would ‘ _ realise we’re in love _ ’ first. Found out last night.”

“Steve bet against me?” Bucky asked Clint, who nodded.

“Yup.”

“Well then, I guess you get to tell everyone,” Bucky said, accepting the coffee from Tony. “Thank you.”

“Where’s mine?” Clint asked.

Tony shook his head, moving to sit at the dining table. He took Bucky’s hand as he passed, pulling Bucky to the table also. “Only people I’m sleeping with get coffee from me in the morning.”

Clint looked to contemplate this for a moment, before shaking his head, jumping down off the counter to make his own. “Nah, not today.”

Before Bucky could respond to  _ that _ , Steve came in, clearly just back from his run. 

Bucky tapped Tony on the shoulder, pointing at Steve. Tony nodded, moving their chairs closer so that he could lean his head on Bucky’s shoulder.

“Morning,” Steve said to everyone, getting a drink out of the fridge and coming to sit across from Bucky. It took Steve a moment, but then his eyes widened. 

“What are you looking at?” Bucky asked, putting an arm around Tony’s shoulders.

Steve looked at Tony and Bucky, then looked at Clint, who had mysteriously appeared in the chair next to Steve.

“I don’t suppose…”

Clint shook his head, holding out a hand. 

“Can’t believe you bet against me,” Bucky shook his head as Steve pulled out his wallet, handing over five dollars. “And for such a small amount.”

Tony lifted up his head, looking at the other two. “Five dollars?”

Clint shrugged, pocketing the money. “Buys two pizzas. One for me, one for Lucky.” Clint smiled, until he spilt his coffee on his shirt. “Aww, coffee, no.”


	47. “How did you find me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 46: “How did you find me?”
> 
> Tags:  
> AU- fantasy; Tony is a reclusive inventor; Bucky goes looking for him; pre-relationship

 

 

“I like to pride myself on not being able to be found unless I want to be. So, first question: how did you find me?”

Bucky stood tall, staring down the Man of Iron, the legend he had heard so much about. “You left clues.”

The Man of Iron smiled, standing up and walking over to Tony. “Clues, you say?”

Bucky nodded. “Friends, as well. Rhodey says hi.”

The Man of Iron laughed, shaking his head. “If you’ve managed to find Rhodey, I guess you must be alright. He doesn’t just like  _ anyone _ , you know.”

“He might have mentioned that,” Bucky said, waving a hand. “Amongst other things.”

“Oh?”

“He might have said that I’m your type.”

The Man of Iron froze, before shaking his head, waving a hand as he walked over to a table. “That man won’t stop until I’m married, I swear. You’d think he’d worry about himself, but  _ no _ , gotta worry about me. Now,” The Man of Iron crossed his arms across the table, staring at Bucky. “Why are you here?”

Bucky took off the glove of his left hand, pushing up his shirt. “The man who designed this, has gone and disappeared. No one can figure it out; I was told you’d be my best bet.”

The Man of Iron stood up, coming around the table to look at the arm. “How long have you been looking for me?”

“Two years.”

The Man of Iron tsked, poking at the arm. “I can fix this.”

“What will it cost me?”

The Man of Iron straightened up, tapping his lips. “I will settle for a meal.” The Man of Iron shrugged, offering Bucky a smile. “I haven’t had much company, and rarely get to share a meal. If you don’t mind.”

Bucky shook his head. “If you fix my arm, I’ll  _ marry  _ you.”

The Man of Iron laughed, sitting down beside Bucky. “Let’s settle for dinner first, shall we?” he pulled over a bag, retrieving a variety of tools from it. “My name is Tony.”

“Bucky.”

“Nice to meet you Bucky,” Tony smiled, before focusing on the arm. “Now let’s see what we can do about this.”


	48. “Who did this to you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt 47: “Who did this to you?”
> 
> Tags:  
> established relationship; but also not; dimension jumping; Bucky of nebulous dimension jumps to MCU; specifically Siberia MCU

 

One minute, Bucky is enjoying a rare chance to sleep in, arms around Tony and neither moving for the next three hours; the next, Bucky is surrounded by a flash of light that blinds him.

Once he can see again, his first thought is that it’s  _ cold, too cold. _

Second,  _ this is not our bed. _

Third,  _ why is the Iron Man armour laying there, lifeless? _

He runs over, dropping to his knees, ignoring the cold floor against his bare skin. His hands are on Tony’s face; a face dripping blood, and almost as cold as the surrounding room. 

“Tony! Who did this to you?”

Tony’s eyes opened slowly, but once he saw Bucky, they opened wide, and he scrambled to get away.

“STAY AWAY!”

Bucky fell back, holding his hands up. “Tony?”

Tony raised his hands, before lowering them. “You’ve already done  _ this  _ to me, come back to finish off the job?”

“Wha-”

Tony looked around, pushing himself to a seated position. “Where’s Rogers? Thought he’d be here. Or I guess not- doesn’t want to dirty his hands any further, so he sent you?”

“Tony, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It seemed like Tony had only just now taken in Bucky’s appearance; bed hair, old MIT shirt, boxers. 

“You’re not  _ him.  _ But you are?”

Bucky shrugged, moving an inch closer. “I don’t know. I was surrounded by light, then I was here.”

Tony considered him, seeming to find truth to his words. “Even if I didn’t believe you, the lack of blood on you is pretty telling. Plus, the arm.”

“The arm?” Bucky frowned. Tony nodded behind him; Bucky turned to see  _ a  _ metal arm on the ground a few feet away. He turned back to Tony. “Something bad happened.”

Tony nodded.

“I’m in a parallel universe?”

“Seems like it.”

Bucky ran a hand through his hair. “You say things like,  _ we’ll be together in every universe _ ,  _ love in every universe,  _ but that’s just a lie, isn’t it? You’re clearly not with me in  _ this  _ universe.”

Tony’s eyes widened. “You and me?”

Bucky nodded. “For about a year now.”

“You didn’t kill my-  _ his  _ parents?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t know,” Bucky admitted, looking down at his hands. He had no way of knowing just what he had done in his past. He looked back up at Tony. “Is that why you fought?”

Tony made a seesaw motion with what looked to be a broken hand. “Snowball effect. I’m glad at least  _ one  _ version of me got to be happy with someone.”

“There’s no one for you?”

“Tried with Pepper,” Tony closed his eyes for a moment, shaking his head. “Nevermind. Any idea how long you’ll be here?”

As Bucky opened his mouth to answer, he was consumed by the light again. 

When he could see again, he was back in bed with Tony. He looked at his clock; no time had passed.

_ What on earth? _

~

Tony chalked it up to his subconscious keeping him alive. A minute after Bucky disappeared, rescue arrived.

_ Weird for my subconscious to give me a version of Bucky that loves me. I guess it’s better than what happened here. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> I'll be posting these to my tumblr (jenjo93) first, then posting them here.  
> I'll be working through the list in numerical order, so if there's a prompt you want to see earlier, just let me know.


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